LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




QQQOaSTBllib 




F3 







y from the German^ 





of C.FalKenhorst 



75 

"" By Elise L.Lathrop. '''1' 

^^WITH I L.LU 5TR ATIONS. ^^-^ 

October I2th', 1892— Columbus Souvenip. 




^ewYoRK. 

\V0RTrilNQT0H Co 747-BROADWAY 




ENTRANCE OF COLUMBUS INTO PALOS. 



WITH COLUMBUS 



IN 



AMERICA 



^ Souel 



BY 



C. FALKENHORST 



c. 



ADAPTED BY ELISE L. LATHROP 






ILLUSTRATED 



NI-:\V VORK 

WORTHINGTON COMPANY 

747 Broadway 
1892 



3S7 






Copyright, 1892 
WORTHINGTON COMPANY 

New York 




WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 



On a sunny August afternoon in tlie year 1473^ 
two men might have been seen strolling slowly 
along the B,ua Direita de Sao Francisco in Lisbon. 
It was very hot, the sun beat clown upon the pave- 
ment, the trees looked parched and dusty, while 
the streets were almost deserted. The two men 
had chosen the shady side of this particular street, 
but even here the heat was intense, scarcely a 
breath of air was stirring; it seemed almost too 
warm to speak, and they walked on, merely occa- 
sionally exchanging a remark. 

There was sufficient resemblance between the 
two for any close observer at once to pronounce 
them brothers, but the shorter and younger ap- 
l^eared almost insignificant at the side of the elder; 



* The dates in this work have been compared with Fiske. 
—Adapter. 



4 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

the latter, evidently of recent arrival in the city, 
for his aj)i3earance was somewhat travel-stained, 
was tall and broad-shouldered ; his fine figure and 
magnificent carriage would attract attention at all 
times. His naturally fair complexion was sun- 
burned and bronzed, his eyes large, blue, and pierc- 
ing, but softened by the kindly, genial ex^^iression 
of the mouth. Although only thirty-five or there- 
abouts, his hair, which he wore rather long, was 
snowy Avhite, adding not a little to the general 
picturesqueness of his appearance. 

As they strolled leisurely on, they drew near 
a chapel, whose bells were ringing for vesi)ers. 
Through the oj)en doors could be seen a cool, dark 
interior, most inviting after the hot, dusty thor- 
oughfare. 

Involuntarily both brothers halted. 

" What sayest thou, shall we not go in, Barto- 
lomeo?" said the elder. "It will be cooler after 
vespers are over, and there is really no reason why 
we should hurry to your home." 

" Agreed," said the younger, and they entered 
the chapel. 

The dim light was most refreshing after the 
glare outside. The chaj)el, an ordinary edifice, 
differing little from scores of similar ones in the 
country round, although not large, was lofty, and 



AVITII COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 5 

built in the true Gothic style. The excessive heat 
seemed to have affected both choristers and X3riests, 
for they droned through the service in a most 
sleei)-inducing manner. There were but few wor- 
shippers, and the greater part of these women, 
whose attention wandered sadly from the service. 
But no, one excej)tion should be made. On the 
other side of the church, slightly in front of the 
two brothers, knelt two figures, both women, the 
younger a slight, beautiful girl clad all in soft, 
filmy white, excex)t for the black lace mantilla 
fastened about her head. Her dress and general 
appearance indicated that she belonged to the 
upper class or nobility. More than one pair of 
eyes rested in admiration upon her, but she seemed 
wholly unconscious of this. Her head was bowed 
devoutly, and, with eyes fixed uj)on the ground, 
she told the beads of her rosary as earnestly as 
though she were alone in her own room. The 
elder man seemed positively bewitched : he could 
scarcely take his eyes from the fair unknown, and 
yet he could catch but a glimpse of her face, 
merely the pure, regular profile and outline of a 
slender, unusually graceful figure. The eyes, as 
said, were lowered ; he could see the long, dark 
lashes resting upon her cheeks. 
Meanwhile the other brother — he addressed as 



6 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

Bartolomeo — seemed no less preoccupied, and j)aid 
as little attention to the service as liis elder com- 
panion. But it was no fair maiden wlio so en- 
chained his attention. His features, larger and of 
a sterner mould than his brother's, were contracted 
in a frown of intense thought. His eyes, clear and 
piercing, gazed straight before him, but it is doubt- 
ful if he noticed any of his surroundings. 

At length the service was at an end, and the 
congregation prepared to depart. The slight young 
girl with her companion, a stout, plainly dressed 
lady of middle age, passed directly in front of the 
two brothers, the girl with eyes demurely low- 
ered. 

But just at this moment, O fortunate chance, 
a rose which had been fastened in the bosom of 
her gown fell to the pavement; without noticing 
this, she would have jiassed on, but the man's 
keen blue eyes had perceived it, and, stooping 
hastily, he picked np the rose, almost before it 
had touched the ground, and held it out to the 
girl with a " Pardon, sehorita." 

She started slightly, raising a pair of magnifi- 
cent dark eyes to his ; dark, I said — fairly black 
were they, but soft as velvet, lustrous and spar- 
kling, shaded by long, curling lashes, while above 
them arched delicately pencilled eyebrows. She 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 7 

gazed at him for a moment as if fascinated, while 
a slight flush rose to her pale face as she took the 
rose, with a grave inclination of the head. Mean- 
while the girl's companion, not noticing this little 
incident, had passed on, and, although the whole 
had occupied but a few seconds, was now sever- 
al paces ahead. Suddenly she turned. " Felipa, 
where art thou? " she cried, as, after making some 
casual remark, she perceived that the girl was no 
longer at her side. At this Felii)a hastened to re- 
join her, not without casting another glance at 
the distinguished-looking stranger. 

The younger brother apparently had been too 
deeply absorbed in his own thoughts to notice 
this little scene, and only as they reached the 
street, and the elder started in the direction taken 
by the two ladies, did he lay a detaining hand 
upon his arm, exclaiming: "Why, Cristoforo, 
whither art thou going ? Hast thou so soon for- 
gotten the direction which we must take? For one 
so skilled in guiding a ship through the stormy, 
pathless seas, methinks thou showest strange con- 
fusion as to the points of the compass." 

With a slight laugh, Cristoforo turned, and the 
two brothers walked off in the opposite direction. 
After they had proceeded a short distance in si- 
lence, Cristoforo turned and gazed after the fair 



8 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

lady with the rose, but she and her companion 
were already out of sight. 

*' So the fair maiden's name is Felipa! " he mnr- 
miired to himself. 

" What sayest thou, brother? " asked the 
younger. 

" Nothing, nothing. I find the habit of soliloquy 
grows upon me, perchance from my wandering 
life; for I have found few friends in all my thirty- 
seven years, Bartolomeo. But now a truce to this; 
dost thou — or — say, pray tell me, art thou in the 
habit of frequenting the little chapel we have just 
left?" 

The younger brother stared at him in surprise. 
" In truth, no. I have seldom set foot in it; it is a 
long walk from my abode. AVhy, wast thou so 
charmed with it? I must fain admit that my 
thoughts wandered sadly while the holy father 
intoned the brief service." 

" Oh, 'tis of no consequence ; 'twas but an idle 
question. What thinkest thou, my brother — for 
thou hast evaded answering my question until 
now — can I find sufficient employment here in the 
fair city of Lisbon to provide me with clothes for 
my back, and meat and drink for my stomach, to 
say nothing of a roof over my head? My store of 
coin is indeed but small," he added, drawing out 



AVITII COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 9 

a purse containing a couple of gold j^ieces and 
some smaller coins. 

"But in what wouldest tliou engage thyself, 
brother Cristoforo?" asked the younger, hesitat- 
ingly. 

" In what! " repeated the elder, in surprise. " In 
what occupation should I, save in map-making, 
draughting, copying, or the like? Thou knowest 
well that I am competent for such work " 

" Yes, yes," interposed the other; " but is it pos- 
sible that thou art willing to settle down to such 
a life after thy many adventurous voyages ? Why, 
methought thy last voyage with the noble lords 
Santarem and Escobar had filled thee with ambi- 
tion to pursue thine explorations yet farther in 
this much talked-of search for a water route to 
the Indies. There are, besides, many opportunities 
for so good a sailor in our good port : vessels for 
England, Holland, all ports of the world, leave it. 
Wouldest thou not do better to seek thy fortunes 
with them?" 

" No, Bartolomeo, no ; I am weary of a roving 
life. I will live in quiet and peace until such 
time as the longing for the sea come upon me with 
too great force. Speak not of the noble lords 
Santarem and Escobar to me! Thou hast heard 
the result of that voyage. Who knows what 



10 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

might have been learned could we but have pushed 
farther on ? Ah^eady we had gone farther than 
ever had been done before ; but no, sailors were 
weary, and my lords Santarem and Escobar fully 
satisfied with the one bit of news they could re- 
port, that the coast of Africa turned and trended 
southward at such and such a latitude. Fine 
news, this! " he continued mockingly. '' How far 
different might it have been ! No, never will I set 
out again on such a voyage under the authority 
of such great lords. / would be the one to deter- 
mine when to retrace our path, /; and when is it 
l)robable that I, a poor draughtsman, sailor, copy- 
ist, what you will, can command my own ship? 
So for the present let me remain here in Lisbon. 
And now for an answer to my question, Barto- 
lomeo : dost thou think it probable that I shall be 
able to earn enough to satisfy my few wants ? " 

The younger man smiled. 

" There are always maps to be made and copy- 
ing to be done in this fair city, brother; and such 
work as thine will surely be always in demand, 
and yet — however, we Avill see. I misdoubt me if 
such a quiet, uneventful life Avill long satisfy thee 
—but of this later. How didst thou leave our 
revered father, our brother Giacomo and our sister? 
Is the new home in Savona a pleasant one? " 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 11 

" Our beloved father is well in body ; would that 
I could say the same of his fortunes," rej^lied 
Cristoforo, smiling slightly. " He is full of hope 
that they will soon mend and prosper, if not in the 
weaving trade, then through the tavern ; but as yet 
neither has brought him in much. Of our sister's 
marriage thou hast heard ere this. Her husband 
seems a thrifty, honest fellow, and sincerely at- 
tached to her. He keeps our father faithfully 
supplied wdth cheese, both for his own use and 
for his guests in the tavern, which latter is no 
great tax upon him, as you may imagine. Giaco- 
mo is apprenticed to a man in the town, and seems 
an industrious lad. Our father spoke thankfully 
of the money wdiich thou continuest to send him 
from time to time. 1 fear me thou hast sadly 
stinted thyself, my brother." 

With this and other chat, the two made their 
way to the older, shabbier part of the town, w here 
in a narrow side street of old houses whose lower 
floors served as shox)s for all kinds of goods, from 
everything required by a sailor to those common 
necessaries of life, they paused before a house 
differing but slightly from its neighbors, and as- 
cended the first flight of stairs. On a door at the 
head of the flight was fixed a small sign, bearing 
the inscription : 



12 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

BARTOLOMEO COLOMBO. 

Maps Accurately and Neatly Made. 

Copying Done. 

The younger brother opened the door and led 
the way into an apartment of medium size with 
two windows, near one of which stood a table 
heaped with pens, inks, papers, compasses, etc. 
The room was plainly, even scantily furnished, 
but the walls were covered with maps of all the 
then known portions of the globe. Strange 
enough would these maj^s aj)pear to our modern 
eyes. The entire ocean west of Africa was let- 
tered " Sea of Darkness; •' and a veritable sea of 
darkness it was to' the mariners of that time. 

Bartolomeo threw o^jen the door of an inner 
apartment serving as bedroom, and exclaimed: 
" Here thou seest my home, Cristof oro. It is hum- 
ble enough, but such as it is thou art more than 
welcome to share it for such time as thou art con- 
tent here. To-morrow w^e will see wdiat can be 
done for thee. Meanwhile thou must be tired 
from thy long journey." And so speaking, Bar- 
tolomeo was passing from one room to the other, 
and in a few minutes both brothers sat down to 
their frugal sui^per. 

Meanwhile the fair Felipa and her companion, 
her mother, had walked slowly homeward. 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 13 

" Why wast tliou lingering so far beliind me, 
child ? " said her mother, after they had proceeded 
for some distance in silence. 

" I — I dropped something, mother," faltered 
Felipa, somewhat abashed. Then with sudden 
animation and resolve, she asked: "Didst thou 
see the tall, noble-looking stranger, mother ? He 
came out of the chapel directly behind us, and 
picked up the rose I dropi^ed and handed it to 
me with such grace and a high-born air ! O mother, 
from his looks he might be a great lord, and yet 
he was but shabbily dressed. But didst thou see 
him, mother? " 

" Felipa, Felipa, thou shouldest be paying at- 
tention to the services of our holy Church, and 
not casting thine eyes around and paying atten- 
tion to strange men. Fie, -my daughter, I am 
ashamed of thee." 

'' But, indeed, mother, it was not during vespers 
that I saw him, not until we were coming out — 
but tell me, didst thou see him? His hair was 
white, mother, quite white, although he is surely 
not old." 

"Nay, Felipa, I noticed no such person," re- 
plied her mother, smiling slightly. " Probably it 
was some stranger from a newly arrived ship— a 
sailor, perchance." 



14 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

" Sailor ! O mother! " repeated Felipa, in scorn. 
" Tliis man is surely no sailor." But lier mother 
evinced no desire to pursue the subject farther, so 
the girl said no more; but nevertheless she did not 
cease to think of the handsome man with the 
winning smile, and, even if the truth must be told, 
her attention did wander at matins and vespers, 
which she daily attended at the little chapel; but 
in spite of all her cautious glances, she did not see 
him there again for some time, and was beginning 
to fancy that perhaps she never w^ould, when her 
wish was one day gratified in the most unexpected 
manner. 

PerhaiDs a week later, there was a knock at the 
door of the modest apartments occupied by the 
mother and daughter. Felipa, busy with some 
lacework taught her by the nuns at the convent 
school which she attended, hastened to open the 
door, and started back in the greatest surprise, 
quite speechless with amazement, for there on the 
threshold stood the white-haired stranger, and, 
looking scarcely less amazed than herself, inquired 
for Sehora Isabella de Perestrelo. Scarcely could 
little Felipa recover her composure sufficiently 
to ask him to be seated. Then hurrying into an- 
other room, where her mother was busy about 
various little household duties, she wert close up 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 15 

to her, and announced in a breathless whisper: 
" He is in there, mother— the man whom I saw in 
the chapel — dost thou remember? — and he asked 
for thee by name : ' Sehora Isabella de Perestrelo,' 
he said." 

At first her mother looked a trifle dazed, as it is 
doubtful if she had given the subject of her 
daughter's enthusiastic praise a second thought 
since the day now nearly a week past. At length 
she seemed to recall him, however, and looked quite 
as surprised as her daughter had expected. 

" Art thou sure thou hast not misunderstood 
him, Felipa? But, no, that is scarcely possible. 
Did he say what is his business? " 

^'No, mother— I— think not," said Felipa, hesi- 
tatingly, not caring to own that she had scarcely 
given him time for this. Almost as curious as 
her daughter, the sehora smoothed her hair before 
a tiny mirror, and entered the small sitting-room, 
where she found the stranger absorbed in the con- 
templation of a map which hung on the Avail, and 
represented the island of Porto Santo, discovered, 
or, to speak more correctly, rediscovered barely 
sixty years before. 

So absorbed was he, in fact, that he did not no- 
tice her presence until she had given a little ad- 
monishing cough. Then he turned quickly enough, 



16 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

and asked her pardon, in fluent Portuguese, which 
yet had a slight accent. 

"Am I speaking to Senora Isabella de Pere- 
strelo?" he asked. 

The lady bowed. 

" I am Cristoforo Colombo, and am sent by my 
brother Bartolomeo, who received word that you 
wished some copies of maps and charts made." 

'• Yes. I have some maps which belonged to 
my dead husband. I am unwilling to part with 
them," said Isabella de Perestrelo, " but wish some 
copies made, that I may give them to my son -in- 
law. Bartolomeo Colombo was recommended to 
me as a careful and good draughtsman, and accord- 
ingly I sent word to him. You are his brother, 
you say ? " 

" His elder brother, sefiora." 

" Have you been long in Lisbon, may I ask, sir? " 

" About a week," replied Cristoforo Colombo. 

"So short a time as that! You seemed inter- 
ested in yonder maj)," said she, pointing to the 
map which has been mentioned. 

" Yes, in truth I am. It is the first time I have 
seen such a carefully drawn and apparently accu- 
rate map of that island. Never having been there, 
although I have passed it several fcimes, I was inter- 
ested in it. It belongs to you, senora, I suppose? " 



WITH COLUMBUS IT^^ AMKKICi\ 17 

" Yes. Our home, in fact, is there. My husband 
— you must have heard of liim — Bartolomeo Pere- 
strelo " 

" Indeed I have. Who has not heard of that 
brave navigator, who is, besides, a countryman of 
mine?" 

" All, then you are an Italian ? Fluent as is 
your Portuguese, I yet susj)ected that you were 
not a native of Portugal." 

" I was born in Genoa, sehora; and although but 
little of my life has been spent in the sunny land 
of Italy, as I have led a roving life, I may yet call 
it my country. But was not your husband gov- 
ernor of Porto Santo? " 

" He was until his death, now sixteen years 
ago," said the lady, pressing her hand to her eyes 
in rather affected emotion. " He served his prince 
faithfully, but it is a proof of the ingratitude of 
Xirinces that such a clever, noble, upright man 
should die, leaving his dear wife and daughter 
nothing but a farm upon this island, and a few 
old maps and charts. Felipa is my only child, for 
I was my husband's second wife; and the son-in-law 
of whom I spoke is in reality but the husband of 
my step-daughter. Ah, times are very different 
from what they were. Little did I think when 
young, living here in Lisbon, in my father's house, 



18 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

a gay young thing, witli every wish indulged, that 
I would end my days on a lonely farm on an 
island far, far from dear Lisbon ! " 

'^Then your home is on this island?" asked 
Columbus, whom the widoAv's loquacity seemed 
not to weary in the least, although he did glance 
in the direction in which the pretty daughter 
had disappeared, as if hoping that she w^ould 
reappear. 

" Our home, yes ; but for two years we have lived 
here in Lisbon. I had some small savings, and, 
poor as we are, my Felipa must have the educa- 
tion befitting a Seiiorita Mohez de Perestrelo," said 
the mother, uttering these names with no small 
pride. " Her relations too have realized this ne- 
cessity, although little enough will they do for 
her, for she is far prettier than all the maidens of 
the other Perestrelo families, although I her 
mother do say it. She has attended the convent 
school of i^ossa Senhora de Graca,'' she continued, 
" but in a few months we shall return." Then be- 
thinking herself that she had wandered sadly from 
the object of their interview, she added somewhat 
hurriedly : " But as to the maps— do you wish to 
see them, or is your brother unable to undertake 
the work?" 

" My brother has all that he can do at present, 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 19 

but sent me in his stead. I have had no little ex- 
experience in niai>drawing, and should be pleased 
to try my skill with these. Perhaps you would 
like to see some specimens of my work " 

"Oh, no," said the sehora, upon whom the 
stranger's courteous and affable manners — his 
handsome appearance as well, perhaps — had made 
no little impression. " I am sure if one so highly 
spoken of as your brother seems to be on all sides, 
should send you as his substitute, your work will 
be excellent." 

Columbus bowed in silent acknowledgment. 

" I will bring the maps I wish copied," said she; 
then raising her voice, she called: "Felipa, 
Felipa! " Then as the girl api:)eared in the door- 
way, she gave her some directions and her daugh- 
ter disai)peared, returning in a few minutes with 
several well-worn charts. 

" My daughter, Felipa," said the lady, by way 
of introduction, " Senor Colombo." 

Felipa courtesied shyly, flushing deeply, while 
Columbus gazed at her with a look of intense ad- 
miration. 

The ma]DS were deposited upon a table, and 
Columbus bent over them with deep interest. 

" It is of these four that my son-in-law wishes 
copies made," said Isabella Perestrelo, designating 



20 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

four of tlie most worn. "And this was tlie reason 
why I wished to speak with you — or your brother, 
rather. I am unwilling to send them out of the 
house, and am anxious to know if you would be 
willing to make the copies here." 

To this Columbus agreed more readily than she 
had perhaps expected ; and after the price to be 
X^aid upon completion of the Avork had been agreed 
ux)on, the following morning was appointed for him 
to begin. In the morning, Felipa would be safe at 
the convent, from which she did not return until 
quite late in the afternoon. A few more remarks 
were exchanged, and Columbus took his departure. 

" Is he not handsome, mother? Is it not as I 
said? Didst thou notice his eyes? Such magnifi- 
cent blue eyes, mother, blue as the sky!" cried 
Felipa, almost before he Avas out of hearing. 

"' He is a man of agreeable manners, and not ill- 
looking, certainly, my child ; but it is unbecoming 
that thou should st speak of him thus. He is of a 
different rank from thee, Felipa. Never forget 
that thou belongest, through both thy father and 
me, to two noble families. Why, my child, I have 
been to court in my young days ; and thy father 
was governor, child, governor of Porto Santo." 

"And yet he was but a navigator at first, 
mother," replied Felipa, pouting. 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMEKICA. 21 

" He was governor when I married liim, Felii:)a," 
replied lier mother, serenely. " But enough of 
this; it is time that we sliould make ready for 
vespers. Fetch your rosary, child, and do not let 
your mind be so occupied Avitli this Colombo, whoni 
thou hast seen but twice, and Avill probably never 
see again." 

At this thought Felipa looked a trifle discon- 
certed, but hastened to rejoin her mother, and the 
two went, as usual, to the little chapel for vespers. 




II. 



The next morning, and for several sncceeding 
mornings, Colnmbns was on hand pnnctnally, and 
set to Avork diligently at map-copying. In vain 
did he hope to see the fair Felipa, he was invaria- 
bly admitted by the sehora, who frequently came 
in and chatted with him. She gave him long and 
detailed accounts of their life upon Porto Santo 
during her husband's life, and even mingled girl- 
ish reminiscences of her own life in Lisbon. To 
much of this chat Columbus listened with inter- 
est, but from his manner no one could fancy that 
it was not all highly entertaining. He was quiet 
and rather reticent, himself, but was occasionally 
drawn into relating some of his own early expe- 
riences. He told her of his mother, his father, and 
brothers, and even diffidently referred to his many 
adventures, for his life had been an eventful one. 

He did in fact seem to have won the sehora's 
heart; she talked more and more freely to him, 
she even brought him cool, refreshing drinks. But 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 23 

all these interruptions did not prevent the work 
from steadily advancing, and at last came the time 
when one more morning's work, and the maps 
would be completed. 

Columbus had said but little to his brother Bar- 
tholomew about his work. The younger brother 
knew nothing about the Sehora Perestrelo. He 
had merely been notified that some copying of 
maps was to be done, and had been asked if he 
would do it. As he had quite an amount of work 
on hand, and was anxious to give his brother 
some, he had sent him to find out particulars. 
But not a word had Columbus said to his brother 
of pretty Felipa, or that the mother and daughter 
had proved to be the very couple he had seen in 
church. However, it was doubtful if Bartholomew 
would have remembered the girl, or even if he 
had noticed her at all. 

This anticipated last morning of work was to 
prove very different from what Columbus had 
thought. On this Friday morning, a trifle later 
than usual, Columbus knocked at the Sehora 
Perestrelo's door ; but to his great surprise it was 
o^Dened not by the buxom sehora, but by none 
other than slight, jDretty Felipa, and unusually 
pretty did she look, somewhat paler than upon 
the other two occasions when he had seen her. 



24 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

She courtesied demurely as she admitted him, but 
vanished almost immediately afterward into the 
adjoining room. 

Columbus had worked for perhaps an hour when 
the door of this room was hastily opened, and 
Felipa hurried in, pale, breathless, and, forgetting 
all her shyness, went close ujd to the table where 
the sehor was working. '* sehor," she cried, 
" I am so frightened; my mother " 

She paused and gazed up into his face appeal- 
ingly. 

" What is it, senorita? " said he, springing up. 

'^ She is ill — oh, she must be very ill. She com- 
plained 01 not feeling well this morning, and that 
is why I stayed home from the convent, but she felt 
better — she was sewing — and now — oh, what shall 
I do ! " she cried, wringing her hands and looking 
prettier than ever. 

"Is she really ill?— do you not want a physician 
called? — can I not be of some assistance? — pray 
call upon me in any way," all this in one breath, 
quite a remarkable achievement for reserved Chris- 
topher Columbus. 

" Oh, if you could — but indeed it is too much — 
and yet there is no one but old Maria, and she is 
so slow, if she Avould go, she is cross " 

" Senorita, if you Avould like me to go for a 



WITH COLUMBUS IN ami:rica. 25 

doctor, Mssuredly I will go. AVill you give me 
tlie address?" 

" Oh, I do not know of any one. Mother has 
never, never been ill like this — ah, it is so kind in 
you, Sehor Colombo, if you Avould bring some 
one " 

" Sehorita Felipa, a doctor shall be here as soon 
as I can i30ssibly find one, and that will surely not 
be long. But do not be so alarmed; it can be 
nothing serious; the sehora your mother seemed 
well yesterday; it may be but a passing faint- 
ness. Do not frighten yourself needlessly. I will 
go at once," and taking up his hat he left the 
room. 

Felipa hastened back to her mother's side. 
Sehora Perestrelo lay back in a large arm-chair, 
panting for breath, with closed eyes. Her daugh- 
ter knelt down beside her, chafed her hands, and 
called her by all sorts of endearing names, but 
was wholly ignorant of any remedies to use. But 
almost before she had thought it possible, slow as 
every moment yet seemed to her, Columbus had 
returned with a physician, a grave, elderly man, 
whose very appearance was reassuring. He went 
up to the sehora, felt her pulse, and then, opening 
a small bag wdiich he liad brought with him, took 
out a vial. " Bring me a glass of w\att?r, please," 



26 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

said he to Felipa — his iirst remark of any kind 
since he had entered the house. 

The girl hurriedly fetched it. He dropped a 
dark liquid into it, and with a spoon forced some 
of the mixture between the sehora's lips. It had 
a speedy effect; she sat up and opened her eyes, 
gazing about her in bewilderment. 

" Are you better, mother ? O dear mother, are 
you better? " cried Felipa, anxiously. 

"Hush! do you wish to make your mother 
worse, child? " said the physician, but not un- 
kindly. "Run into the other i^oom "—but Felipa 
gazed at him so piteously that he relented and 
added, "unless you will be very quiet; then you 
may stay." 

Felipa was quiet as a mouse, and scarcely stirred 
until her mother herself spoke and called her to 
her. 

" I am better now, my child ; you iviust not be 
frightened." 

" Yes, yes, certainly not," added Dr. Lopez. 
" The heat has been a little too much for your 
mother, sehorita ; that is all. I will come in again 
this afternoon. Keep the sehora perfectly quiet, 

and that is all, except " here he added some 

simple directions about the drops to be adminis- 
tered, and left the room. 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMEKICA. 27 

In the adjoining apartment waited Columbus. 
He joined the physician and followed him to the 
door. " Is tlie sehora really very ill? " he asked. 

Dr. Lox)ez glanced at him. "A relative?" he 
asked, 

" Not the slightest," replied Columbus. 

" Hm! well— no, she is not ill now; her heart is 
affected, however. Good-morning," and he was 
gone. 

Columbus stood there rather uncertain what to 
do next. He did not wish to leave the house 
without proffering his assistance ; he hardly liked 
to resume his work, and yet did not think it ad- 
visable to knock at the other room door and dis- 
turb the sick woman. So he stood there irreso- 
lute, mec'hanically staring at the various maps. 
In ten minutes or so the door opened noiselessly 
and Felipa appeared. Closing it carefully behind 
her she went up to Columbus. 

" O sehor, let me thank you ; what should I 
have done had it not been for your kindness ? I 
am so very, very thankful to you." 

" Pray say nothing of it; it was nothing. I am 
glad that I could help you. Is Senora Perestrelo 
feeling better now? " 

" She is asleep," said Felipa. *' She looks better 
and she is sleeping naturally. Oh, you do not 



28 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

think slie is very ill, surely. Tlie doctor said it 
was nothing; the heat, perhaps." 

" Yes, yes, most probably. The heat has been 
intense for so many days. But can I be of no 
further assistance to you? Can I not find some 
one to stay with you and help you with your 

mother " He paused abruptly, fearing lest 

he might unnecessarily alarm pretty, frightened 
Felipa. 

" Xo, oh no, there is nothing more that you can 
do. I need no one. If mother should be ill — but, 
oh, you do not think that she will! — I should wish 
to take care of her myself." 

" Doubtless she will be quite herself again by 
to-morrow. I think we may have cooler weather, 
the wind is changing," he added, glancing at the 
slowly moving clouds. " But, sehorita, it will in- 
convenience you to have me working here. I will 
postpone finishing the map, and, if you will j^er- 
mit, will call this evening and inquire for your 
mother." 

"Thank you," said Felipa, neither assenting 
nor dissenting, although she shyly offered her 
hand. 

"Art thou not home early to-day, brother?" 
asked Bartholomew, looking up from his work. 

"Yes, a trifle, perha^^s," said Christopher. 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 29 

" Senora Peres trelo was ill, so I left early. The 
maps are nearly finished. A couple of hours' Avork 
will be sufficient to comj)lete them." 

Nothing more was said upon the subject until 
in the early evening, Avhen, as it had become some- 
what cooler, Bartholomew suggested to his brother 
to take a stroll along the river, perhaps even go 
for a row if they should feel inclined. To his 
great surprise, however, Christopher declined 
somewhat confusedly. 

" I have an errand Avhicli I must attend to first," 
said he. " Suppose thou shouldst wait for me at 
the little inn where we met last week. Then I 
will join thee there in a short time." 

Bartholomew looked at him in surprise. " I 
will go with thee to attend to thy errand. I sup- 
pose it will not take thee long, eh? " 

''Oh, that is not worth while. It would be out 
of thy way. Thou must be tired after thy long- 
day's work, and this hot walk will only unneces- 
sarily fatigue thee. It will be best for thee to 
wait for me as I proposed." 

There Avas something in Christopher's tone, al- 
though most cordial, which discouraged further 
argument on Bartholomew's part, so with a shrug 
of his shoulders he allowed his brother to go his 
own way. 



30 WITH COLUMBUS IN A.MEEICA. 

" Curious fellow, what can lie have in mind 
now?" he thought, as he strolled slowly toward 
the appointed rendezvous. 

Christopher Columbus meanwhile turned in the 
opiDosite direction and, walking quickly, was soon 
in front of the house in which Sehora Perestrelo 
and her daughter lived. Having knocked at their 
door, after a moment's delay it was opened a 
crack by Felipa. She flushed shyly. 

" Oh, it is you, Sehor Colombo." 

"Yes, sehorita; and how^ is the sehora your 
mother this evening." 

"Thank you so much, I am sure she is better; 
she is sleeping quietly. Oh yes, she will soon be 
well." 

" I must not keep you from her side, I suppose," 
said Columbus, most unselfishly, " but I will do 
myself the pleasure to call again to-morrow and 
inquire for her ; and if I can do anything for you, 
or serve you in any way," he added somewdiat 
diffidently, "will you not send for me?" and he 
handed her a paper ux)on wdiicli w^as written his 
name and address. 

The young girl thanked him with a smile, as 
she took the paper, and followed him with her 
eyes until his tall figure was lost to sight on the 
dark staircase; then she hurried back to her 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 31 

mother's side. She found to her surprise that 
she was awake. 

*'Wliom wast thou speaking with, Felipa?" 
asked she feebly. 

" The sehor Colombo, mother. He came to in- 
quire for thee. He was so kind this morning ! I 
do not know what T should have done had it not 
been for him. He ran for a physician and " 

" Yes, yes, my child." Then after a long pause 
she asked, even more faintly, " Has he finished 
the mai^s?" 

Felipa started from her re very. " Yes — no — I 
— he said he had a little more to do, but that he 
would Avait until you were better. Is not that 
right, mother dear? " 

"Very well." 




III. 

FoK several days Columbus daily called to in- 
quire for Sefiora Perestrelo, and one morning 
Felipa opened the door wide, vvitli a radiant face, 
and ushered him in, saying : 

"You must come in, senor; mother is up — she 
is well to-day." 

And there, ensconced in a large arm-chair, sat 
the sehora, a trifle i3ale, perhaps, but looking quite 
her usual self. She received him most cordially, 
invited him to be seated, and chatted with him 
briskly. Felipa meanwhile seated herself in a 
low chair, busy with some delicate work, only 
occasionally participating in the conversation. 
After some minutes, Columbus mentioned the 
mapmaking, and asked whether he should flnisli 
them this morning. But Sehora Perestrelo de- 
murred, and asked him if xiossible to come the 
next day. However, she seemed in no hurry to 
be rid of him, but detained him on one pretext or 
another until the morning had nearly passed. She 




THE TWO SLAVES BEFORE MARCHENA. 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. * 33 

dismissed liini most affably, and Feli^Ja gave liim 
a bewitching smile. 

Ul^on the following morning he appeared quite 
early and was received by the sefiora alone. He 
hnished the maps this day without interruption, 
and also without catching a glimpse of Felii)a. 
But to his great surprise, after having received 
the jnice agreed upon, the sehora said to him : " I 
have noticed that you seemed greatly interested 
in this map," designating a i)articular one; "and 
if you care to x)ossess a co])j sufRciently to take 
the trouble of making one, you are welcome to it. 
Come some morning and make it." 

He thanked her warmly, and was in fact de- 
lighted to own a copy of the map, and after a few 
polite phrases took leave. He walked slowly 
along the street, but had just reached the corner 
where he was to turn in a different direction, 
when, a short distance ahead, he perceived a young 
girl whom several rough boys were evidently an- 
noying. One was ai)X)arently begging for a kiss, 
and the others encouraging him noisily. 

He hurried up to the group, and to his surprise 
discovered that the girl was none other than 
Felipa, in a state of the greatest distress, her eyes 
dilated with light. 

" Why, sehorita, is it indeed you? " 



34 * WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

" Senor Colombo! Ah, I am so glad! " and she 
clung to his arm with childish confidence. 

Her tormentors scattered at once, and Columbus 
turned and walked with her in the direction of 
her home. 

" I was so frightened — I am not used to going 
out alone — but Barbara did not come for me, you 
see; usually I come home with Maria Parlo and 
her old nurse, but to-day I could not leave mother 
alone all day, and Barbara was to come for me; 
but I waited and waited until I was afraid that 
something had happened " 

"I can reassure you, senorita, for I have but 
just left your mother, and she seems perfectly 
well. 

" Ah, the saints be praised," said little Felipa 
devoutly, crossing herself. Then her thoughts re- 
curring to her past annoyances she murmured: 
" What should I have done if you had not met 
me? You seem to be always rendering me ser- 
vices at such critical moments." 

" I am most delighted that I have been fortunate 
enough to be of any help to you, Senorita Felipa," 
said Columbus, his tone saying more than the 
somewhat formal words. Then he added more 
boldly: " It would be the greatest pleasure of my 
life if I could always be near you to assist you." 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 35 

He x)ause(l abrui:>tly, fearing lest lie had said too 
iniicli. 

Felipa had flushed deeply, but did not look dis- 
pleased, although neither spoke until they reached 
the door of her house, when she asked without 
looking at him, '^ Will you not come in, sefior? " 

"No, I thaidv you; I had taken leave of your 
mother; it remains but for me to bid you farewell, 
sehorita." 

"Are — are the maps linishedr' asked Felii3a, 
struck by his tone. 

" They are," said he, Avatching her face. 

"And— and are you coming no more?" asked 
she, her eyes upon the ground, her Angers playing 
with her fan. 

" That will be as your mother decides, sehorita," 
said he decidedly, and without waiting for an an- 
swer he opened the door for her, gave her one 
long glance, clasped her hand for a moment in his, 
and with a low bow was gone. 

Felipa paused on the stairway, her heart beat- 
ing wildly, her pretty face crimson. What could 
that mean but that— oh, could it be true? but her 
mother, what would she say? She waited until 
she had somewhat recovered her composure before 
entering her mother's room. She said nothing of 
her little adventure, but inquired tenderly of her 



36 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMEKICA. 

niotlier as to how she had spent the morning, and 
even — sly little creature ! — listened as if it were the 
greatest news, when she was told that the maps 
were finished. Her mother watched her rather 
closely as she told her this, but Felipa's demeanor 
was admirable; her face did not change in the 
slightest. 

The next morning brought a surprise to the 
mother in the shape of a letter, left by a boy at 
the door. She turned it over in her hands, won- 
dering from whom it could come. The writing 
was firm and wholly unfamiliar to her. After 
having examined it for a sulficient length of time, 
she finally resolved to open it, and when she did 
so her curiosity was changed into amazement, con- 
sternation, perplexity, for it contained nothing 
less than a petition for the hand of her daughter, 
and was signed, " Cristoforo Colombo." At first 
she could scarcely credit her eyes: such an idea 
had really never seriously presented itself to her 
mind, and she read the letter several times before 
she fairly comprehended it. 

" I am perfectly aware, sehora, of the great dif- 
ference in rank between your daughter and my- 
self, and can feel that your objections on this 
ground alone may be insurmountable, but can 
plead my love for her alone. I am jjoor, yes, but 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 37 

not hopelessly so. I have already a large order 
for maj^s and charts for a vessel about to set sail 
on one of the common voyages of exploring. Be- 
fore presenting myself before you again, even for 
the sake of copying the map Avhich you so gra- 
ciously gave me permission to do, I await your 
answer, and can but pray that it may be a favor- 
able one," etc. 

Sehora Perestrelo sat and stared at the epistle 
for some moments in silence. Her first thought 
had been instantly to write an abrupt refusal, but 
other thoughts obtruded themselves. Her late 
illness— no one kneAv better than she that this was 
no passing disorder, but rather a deep-seated 
malady; these attacks would become more and 
more frequent, her death might occur at any mo- 
ment — and Felipa! her young, sweet, helx)less 
daughter! She had no one to whose charge she 
could commit her, knowing that she would be 
kindly treated. She had no near relatives ; the only 
ones, although wealthy, were out of the question. 
With them, Felipa would occujiy a position little 
better than that of a servant— her pretty Felipa ; 
no, a thousand times no! And yet, fortuneless, 
living ui-)on an island like Porto Santo, what bet 
ter chances would probably i)resent themselves 
for securing her child's future? This man at least 



38 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

had many good qualities, and, although decidedly 
Felipa's inferior, still 

" Felipa," she called, " come here, child." 

The girl obeyed, coming from the adjoining 
room, where she had been busy and had not heard 
the knock of the boy who had brought this im- 
portant letter. She gazed at her mother in aston- 
ishment ; then she saw the paper lying in her lap, 
and gave a slight start. 

Without perceiving it, her mother went straight 
to the point. 

''This letter, Felipa, is from Senor Cristoforo 
Colombo, and contains nothing less than a peti- 
tion for thy hand in marriage ! " Here she paused 
to allow the girl to grasj) the full significance of 
her words, meanwhile gazing at her closely. If 
she ex]Dected great surprise on Felipa's part she 
was nnstaken. A burning blush suffused her face, 
but she did not look amazed, rather pleased. Her 
mother stared at her and finally asked : 

" Well, what dost thou say, Felipa? " 

"It is for thee to say, mother. Thou hast said 
nothing." 

The mother nodded with satisfaction. 

" As I have said before, my child, thy birth is 
far superior to that of a Genoese sailor, however 
agreeable a man he may be " 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 39 

"O mother," the girl interrupted her," he is 
no common sailor. I am sure — yes, I know — that 
he will be a great man yet. He is so clever, so 
wonderfully clever, he speaks so well, and " 

'• But, my child," her mother interfered, rather 
amused, "how canst thou possibly have learned 
all this during the few interviews thou hast had 
with him?" 

Felipa said nothing, abashed, but her mother 
continued : 

" I grant thee that he is not a common man, that 
in fact he is rather uncommon; but whether that 
makes him a suitable match for Sehorita Monez 
de Perestrelo " 

"Ah, mother! " interrupted Felipa, "what does 
all that matter if " 

"If what, Felipa?" 

" If he loves me, and— and I love him? " she con- 
cluded more boldly. 

" Thou lovest him ! Thou, a mere child, lovest a 
man whom thou hast seen how many times, three 
times, Felipa?" 

"Many more than that, surely, mother. Ah, 
mother, thou wilt consent, say thou wilt consent. 
It may be strange, mother, but I think I loved 
him the first time I saw him, he is so kind, so gen- 
tle, and yet so brave and daring." 



40 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

'* Pray how dost thou know? " 

" I have heard about him. Dost thou not know 
Mna Rinaldini, one of my pkiymates? She has 
told me. Her father was captain of a ship, and he 
— Sehor Colombo — sailed with him. Oh, she has 
told me many stories of his bravery " 

" There, there, my child. Thou hast never men- 
tioned this before." 

" No, mother. But let me tell thee something 
else, for which thou shouldst surely be grateful 
to him, mother dear," and the girl recounted her 
adventure of the day before. 

It cannot l^e said that this tale of rescue decided 
Sehora Perestrelo to give her consent, but she 
realized that possibly her daugliter's happiness 
would be seriously involved should she refuse it, 
and the conversation was concluded by the writ- 
ing of a note in which Sehor Colombo was re- 
quested to come at a certain hour late that after- 
noon, and discuss the matter with her. This 
conversation ended most happily for the lovers. 
Perhaps Sehora Perestrelo had been already half 
won over by the man's chivalrous, gentle manners ; 
but be that as it may, her consent was finally 
given, and Felipa called into the room, where, 
radiant with happiness, she laid her hand in that 
of her betrothed. 



WITH COLUMBUS 11^ AMERICA. 41 

Some weeks later tliey were married in the lit- 
tle chapel where they had first met, with but few 
witnesses, among them of course Bartholomew, 
who had hardly recovered from the utter amaze- 
ment and surprise Avhich he had felt when his 
brother had announced to him his engagement. 
He had seen his pretty little sister-in-law many 
times, and had become very fond of her, having 
also won Sehora Perestrelo's respect and liking, 
but he could never have won the i)lace in her 
heart already occupied l)y her '' dear Colombo." 

It had finally been decided that the young 
couple and the sehora should all return to Porto 
Santo, where the sailor and draughtsman could 
now try his hand at farming, managing the little 
farm owned by his wife's mother, and the brothers 
Avere therefore soon parted again for an indefinite 
period. These past few months often seemed a 
mere dream to the solitary Bartholomew after his 
brother had finally departed with his bride, 
neither brother knowing when he would see the 
other, or even hear of him, as Porto Santo was 
somewhat isolated, and means of communication 
would be rare. 




IV. 

Nearly eleven years have elapsed since Felij^a 
Perestrelo gave lier liand to the unknown draughts- 
man. But little of this time has Columbus sj^ent 
upon the quiet farm on Porto Santo. A new, 
daring scheme has been occupying him ; although 
he has been on many voyages, never for one in- 
stant has this scheme left his thoughts, and it is 
none other than a new way of seeking this long 
hoped-for, long-sought water route to the Indies. 
He has determined to sail west and find the Indies 
thus. This is no vague, visionary fancy ; not for 
months did he confide it to a soul, and only after 
many letters had been exchanged with the eminent 
astronomer Toscanelli did it seem possible that his 
plan might some day in the near future be carried 
out. 

Alfonso of Portugal having applied to this as- 
tronomer inquiring what his opinion of a shorter 
route was, the astronomer had presented this west- 
ward scheme, using in part the maps Columbus 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 43 

had sent him. But ten years had passed, the 
aged astronomer was dead, and after all this wait- 
ing, now at last had Columbus found opportunity 
to present his plans to the present king, John. 

The little family, Felij^a and her three children, 
had settled in Lisbon, where Columbus now daily 
hoped for an interview with the king. 

Felipa had lost none of her intense admiration 
for her husband ; she still believed him one of the 
greatest, cleverest men, and hoped to see him one 
day universally acknowledged as such. It was 
she who, although not fully understanding his 
plans herself, yet encouraged him under his many 
disappointments, and the tantalizing delays which 
interfered with the long-hoped-for interview. It 
was Felipa who had herself visited her distant 
relatives, to whom she had long been almost an 
entire stranger, but, nothing daunted, she found 
her way to those of them whose position made it 
possible for them to be of use to her husband. By 
dint of her ardent pleading for his views — views 
regarded as visionary by the majority, but which 
yet found encouragement among a few learned 
men — she managed to win over two of the influen- 
tial members of her family, and these two had 
finally secured the x)romise of a personal inter- 
view with the king. 



44 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

This interview had taken x>lace, but no decision 
had been received ; it was for this second summons 
that Columbus was now waiting. 

He returned home late one afternoon from an 
idle stroll along the banks of the river. It was a 
bright, cloudless day in early September, but the 
heat was intense. The house they had lived in 
for the past six months was in a close, hot quar- 
ter of the city, for money was scarce with them, 
and Felii^a's smooth young brow had worn a look 
of anxiety for some time. The outlook for the 
future was unj)romising. Suppose the king should 
decline to have anything to do with her husband's 
plans? And only this afternoon, her cousin, the 
Sehor Paolo de Martinez de Perestrelo, had been 
to see her, and held out but little hopes of the 
success of these i^lans unless certain modifications 
were made, and had indeed advised Felipa to 
persuade her husband to consent to these modifi- 
cations. 

Accordingly Felipa met him with a somewhat 
absent-minded air. At first Columbus did not 
l^erceive this, being occupied with his own rather 
gloomy thoughts. Felipa was the first to mention 
the subject nearest both hearts. She asked hesi- 
tatingly: 

" No summons as yet, Cristoforo mio? " 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMEUICA. 45 

He started from his re very and looked up. 
" None," said he slowly. Then after a short pause 
he asked, " Has no one been here to-day? " 

" Sehor Paolo de Perestrelo," answered Felij)a, 
for she was not on sufficiently intimate terms with 
her relatives to address them in any less formal 
style. 

'' And what did he have to say? " 

Here Avas opening enough for Felij)a surely, but 
she did not hasten to improve it. Not until her 
husband repeated his question in a slightly sur- 
prised tone did she begin hesitatingly : 

" He said that he thought — that it was the gen- 
eral ox)inion that— that thy demands were too 
great, that the king was unwilling to accede to 
such demands, and if thou wast to make some 
concessions " 

" Yes, if I were to make concessions, to discover 
the route for them for nothing perhaps, leaving 
His Majesty to give all honors and rewards to 
some favorite courtier; "while I — I to whom it was 
justly due — should be left utterly unrewarded ; if 
I should agree to this, then perhaps they would 
permit me to carry out my j)lans, forsooth. No, 
not a single concession will I make ; I have asked 
but little in comparison wdth the advantages which 
may be theirs. And what do they lose by promis- 



46 WITH COLUMBUS IN^ AMERICA. 

ing me these rewards ? Should the enterprise 
prove a faihire, who is the loser, who is exposed 
to ridicule ? The humble subject, Cristoforo Co- 
lombo, is it wdio sinks into oblivion. But it will 
not be a failure," he added, with a change of tone, 
his whole face lighting up with enthusiasm, his 
eyes sparkling. " It will not be a failure. It will 
succeed, succeed, and then! " 

Felipa, watching him, felt all doubts vanish. 
Yes, he was right— his plans would succeed ; and 
then Avhat reward could be too great for this 
wonderful man ? 

But two weeks passed and there was no change 
in their condition. No change! Ah, yes, but a 
change which affected their own little home circle 
alone. The two youngest children, little Felipa 
and Bartolomeo, w^ere ill. They seemed to have 
no particular ailment, but lay motionless in their 
little bed and grew daily weaker and weaker. 
The doctor prescribed some simple remedies, but 
with no eifect; he spoke of country air and de- 
clared the hot city no place for them, but poor 
Felipa knew that it was utterly useless even to 
think of a country trip now. 

Finally, one day, utterly exhausted from watch- 
ing with them, she had lain down for a short 
rest, leaving Diego, the eldest, perhaps live years 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 47 

old, to watch tliem, witli directions to call her 
should they ask for anything. She had fallen 
into a light slumber, but suddenly started up in 
alarm. The gaze of a pair of eyes hxed fully ux)on 
her had roused her from her sleep. She sat up 
and saw her husband standing beside the couch, 
but liis face wore such a strange expression that 
she was alarmed. 

" What is it? " she asked hurriedly. 

^' I leave for Spain this very day," he answered, 
with set teeth. 

"For Spain!" 

"Yes. I will no longer have anything to do 
with this faithless country. Faithless! That is 
too mild a word," he continued, with growing ex- 
citement, his blue eyes flashing. 

" But what is it, Cristoforo? what has happened? 
I do not understand," said FelijDa, in utter bewil- 
derment. 

"What has happened! Listen, Felipa mia. 
Thou knowest how day after day have I been 
kept waiting here, waiting and hoping for a favor- 
able reply, but thou dost not know why. I did 
not until this very day. Oh, His Majesty did well 
to put me off for weeks. He thought he saw a 
way of securing the benefits of my scheme with- 
out being forced to share them with such an in- 



48 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

significant party as myself. As to the honorable- 
ness of his action, oh, that did not trouble him ! " 
Columbus j)aused, out of breath, and Felipa, 
wholly uncomprehending, gazed at him in dismay. 
Never in all these years had she seen him so furi- 
ously indignant, so greatly excited. 

He saw her dismay, and with an effort controlled 
himself and began more quietly: 

" Felipa, after listening to my plans, after en- 
couraging me to tell them fully, His Majesty King 
John of Portugal condescended secretly to fit out 
a vessel, sending it ostensibly with a cargo to the 
Cape Verde Islands, but with directions to push 
on westward and see what there was in this wild 
idea of mine. Of course they were given all the 
benefit of my majDs and charts left in charge of 
the government! " 

Felii^a gave a cry of alarm. 

" But it has not succeeded, this cowardly, dis- 
honorable plan ! I learned of it to~day. The cow- 
ards wxre afraid — yes, afraid — when they found 
themselves alone on the great ocean, and realized 
that they were about to sail whither man had 
never yet sailed, that they Avere starting on a voy- 
age whose end no one could foretell, and they 
have returned. 

'' But after this, never, never will I sail under 



AVITir COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 49 

this king's authority. I shall go to Castile, and 
lay my plans before the Crown. I look for a more 
favorable reception there. I was foolish to tarry 
here so long; and now, Felipa, listen to my plans. 
Thou knowest that our store of money is but 
scanty, and with the sick children and our strait- 
ened means it is impossible for me to take you 
with me. To wait is also out of the question; so 
there is nothing left for me but to go alone— or 
not alone, for I have thought it will be best for 
me to take our little son Diego with me as far 
as Huelva. Thy sister has often begged us to 
lend her one of our children for a time. He 
will be well cared for, and thou wilt have one 
less to tax thy time and strength. What dost 
thou say?" 

Felipa clung to him convulsively. " Must thou 
really go? And on this long, long journey to 
Spain? Oh, when, when shall I see thee again? " 

" Take courage, my Felipa, all wall yet be well. 
There are better days in store for us. I feel, I 
know it. 'This j^arting is unavoidable, but it will 
not be for long, and I may yet return a wealthy 
man, and be able to surround thee and our little 
ones with every luxury. Then thou wilt look 
upon these dark days as a hateful dream, and 
gradually they wall fade from thy remembrance 



50 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

entirely. Look up, and bid me good-by with a 
cheerful face, Felipa," 

Although she had grown deathly jjale, Felipa 
tried to force a smile, but it was a ghastly effort. 
She shed no tears, hoAvever, but set about making 
the necessary preparations, for the time was but 
short, as her husband intended to leave Avith their 
little son that very evening. An acquaintance 
was going part of the way, and had offered to take 
the travellers for some distance in his wagon. 
All this had been arranged before Columbus came 
home. 

There was but little time for sentiment now 
when these arrangements were finally completed. 
They looked over their small stock of money to- 
gether, and had an animated discussion as to the 
amount Columbus should take with him, Felipa 
wishing to leave but a mere trifle for her own use. 
The rooms which comprised their home she was 
sure of for the next three months, the rent having 
been paid for that time, and before that she might 
hope to receive something from the farm on Porto 
Santo, which was in charge of one of the settlers, 
and a friend of the couple. 

The hour of departure had arrived. Little 
Diego, like all children, excited and delighted at 
the prospect of a change, could scarcely wait for 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 51 

his father to leave the house. Felipa bore up 
bravely until the last. She stood in the doorway 
and watched the two until they were out of sighf 
— her husband's tall figure, and the chubby little 
child at his side— and not until they had turned 
the corner, waving her a last adieu, did she turn 
back into the little sitting-room, and, throwing 
herself upon the lounge, burst into tears, sobbing 
out in her despair: " I shall never see him again! 
I shall never see him again ! " 

Poor little Felipa, her unconscious prophecy 
was fulfilled. Within two short months from this 
day, fever had carried off both her two little ones 
and herself, and not until Aveeks after — owing to 
the slowness Avith which news travelled in those 
days— did Columbus learn of his losses; learn that 
the Avife Avho to the last had believed in and en- 
couraged his i)lans, as fully as he himself believed 
in them, Avho to the last had lived for and loA'ed 
but him, Avas no more. 





V. 



Seven years of varied vicissitudes followed 
Columbus' journey to Spain, years of bafl9ed hopes, 
of discouragements, and yet with occasional 
gleams of hope renewed. His arrival at the Span- 
ish court had been at a most unpropitious time. 
Engaged in warring with the Moors, the king and 
queen Jiad little time and less money to devote to 
these schemes to them so visionary. Although 
received in an encouraging manner, and even 
granted some slight monetary assistance, he was 
kept waiting, waiting in vain for the final deci- 
sion. At one time his fortune did indeed seem 
decided favorably. The duke of Medina Cell had 
entertained him most hospitably, and entered so 
warmly into his plans, that he even resolved to fit 
out several ships at his own exx3ense ; but the queen 
would not give her consent to this plan, alleging 
that she had not yet decided that she would not 
take up the affair herself. 

This was in the spring of 1491. But months 



AVITII COLT'MBUS IN AMERICA. 53 

passed, and Columbus liad received no definite 
reply. Sick at heart, he finally decided to leave 
this country where he had wasted so many years, 
and accordingly he went to Hiielva, where his lit- 
tle son Diego had remained all these years with 
his aunt, and, with the boy, prepared to depart for 
either France or England, he had not as yet de- 
cided. 

With Diego at his side, he set out one autumn 
afternoon from the little town on his way to Palos. 
The years had left but few traces on his face and 
figure. He was still erect, vigorous, and hand- 
some ; he still was as firm a believer in his plans 
as ever, although discouraged and disheartened 
at the receptions they had met with. The future 
looked black enough as he strode along the road, 
gazing neither to the right nor the left, absorbed 
in his thoughts, and paying but little attention 
even to Diego. 

The little fellow tramped along right manfully 
at first, but they had walked a long distance, he 
had long since eaten the small lunch his aunt had 
done up for him when they started, and the child 
was both hungry and thirsty. He glanced at his 
father, this father who was almost an entire 
stranger to him ; but Columbus strode on, slightly 
ahead; he had evidently forgotten all about him. 



54 WITH COLUMBUS IT^^ AMEEICA. 

After a f eAv minutes, seeing that his father still 
seemed totally oblivious of his surroundings, he 
ran up to him, and touched his arm. 

" Father, I am very hungry ; have we much far- 
ther to go?" 

The man started and looked at the child. He 
seemed very tired, and suddenly Columbus real- 
ized how long they had been Avalking. 

"Thou art tired, Diego?" he asked gently. 

" Yes, father ; but more than that, I am very 
hungry and thirsty." 

Columbus gazed about him uncertainly. There 
was nothing in sight with Avhicli the boy could 
satisfy his hunger, no fruit or even a nut tree. 
He paused irresolutely; then his eyes fell upon 
a long building upon a hill near by, a building 
which he fancied a monastery. He pointed it out 
to the child, and encouraged him to exert himself 
and push on toward it, hoping tliat they might 
procure food there. He was not mistaken, it was 
the monastery of La Rabida, inhabited by mem- 
bers of the Franciscan order. They reached the 
portal, and only then did Columbus realize how 
exhausted he was. 

He was kindly received, and his petition to be 
allowed to rest for a while, and also for food for 
himself and his little son, was readily granted. 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 55 

After having satisfied their hunger, the monks 
escorted father and son into a large room, whose 
windows overlooked the ocean. Diego threw him- 
self down on the floor in a dark corner and was 
soon asleep. Columbus was standing at one of 
the windows, gazing out upon the water, when one 
of the monks, whom he had not seen before, en- 
tered the room and accosted him pleasantly. 

" You seem to have walked some distance to- 
day, sir. The little boy is quite exhausted," said 
he in a deep, pleasant voice. 

" Yes, we have walked from Huelva,'' replied 
Columbus. 

'' From Huelva ! That is indeed a long journey. 
What is your destination? " 

"God knows!" replied Columbus, bitterly. 
Then, seeing that the monk looked surprised, he 
added, in a more natural tone : " I go either to 
England or to France ; my choice will be decided 
by the first o^Dportunity which I have of winning 
my passage to either countiy. I am a sailor. I 
hox^e to find some captain willing to engage my 
services, even with the additional burden of my 
little son." 

The brother looked at him Avith evident interest. 
This was no common sailor, yet he was poor, that 
was plainly seen. But his whole appearance, his 



56 WITH COLUMBUS IT^ AMERICA. 

manners, liis language, betokened some one far 
above a sailor. 

'' Am I right in thinking you a fellow-country- 
man, a Spaniard? " asked the monk. 

" A Spaniard, no, and yet I have lived in Spain 
for seven years; a Portuguese, no, and yet I lived 
there for longer yet. I am in reality a Genoese ; 
at least I was born in Genoa, but have lived in 
many places, and sailed over almost all the waters 
of this sphere— the known waters," he added in 
an undertone. 

Now, two exjDressions in this speech had at- 
tracted the especial attention of this monk, who 
was none other than Father Juan Perez de Mar- 
chena. Queen Isabella's confessor, and a very intel- 
ligent and learned man. One was the fact tliat 
Columbus had said " the waters of this sphere," 
and the other the words he had added, words 
evidently meant only for himself. Now, as Father 
Marchena knew very well, the belief that the earth 
was a si)here was by no means general; in fact it 
was bitterly contested by many, and wholly un- 
known to the ignorant. It was possible and yet 
hardly probable that the man had used the ex- 
pression unwittingly. And as to the other expres- 
sion, " the known waters," it certainly betokened 
that this stranger, whoever or whatever he was, be- 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 57 

lieved that there were other regions as yet totally 
unknown to the exx)lorers of the time. These 
facts might mean but little in themselves, but 
they, added to the distinguished appearance of 
the man even in his dusty, travel-worn clothes, 
interested Father Juan in him. 

" Is it possible that you believe this earth to be 
a sphere?" asked he suddenly, in a purposely 
depreciatory tone. 

'^Possible!" replied Columbus, quickly. ''Is 
there any other rational belief? " He spoke impa- 
tiently; as the result of the opposition he had en- 
countered, he was now ready to resent the slight- 
est contradiction. But Father Marchena did not 
seem offended at his impatient rejoinder ; he smiled 
slightly, and with increased interest he asked: 

" You are a scholar, then, if that is your opin- 
ion, for the masses have most different ideas." 
Columbus glanced quickly at him. 

" Ah, then your opinion is the same; you know 
how absurd, how preposterous, are those fools 
who assert that such a belief is contradictory to 
the scriptures, impious, and the like." 

"I do know that it is absurd; but they are 
blindly prejudiced, those poor creatures. But 
you speak feelingly, stranger; have you perhaps 
suffered from this ignorance? " 



58 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

"Have I not?" said Columbus, in his former 
bitter tone ; then gazing fully at the monk, some- 
thing in his face inspired him Avitli contidence, 
and, with a frankness which would have surprised 
himself a few moments before, Columbus poured 
out his troubles to the monk's willing ear. He 
told him all his plans, his disappointments, his 
vain efforts to win the support of either the king 
of Portugal or Spain. Even if Father Marchena 
had not been the intelligent, scholarly man that 
he was, he might perhaps have been carried away 
by Columbus' speech, for the man's enthusiasm 
and confidence were contagious. As it was, he 
could understand him, his jDlans did not seem 
visionary, and finally he became almost as enthu- 
siastic as Columbus himself. One after another, 
some six or eight monks, who had passed the 
door and become curious as to what this eager talk 
could be about, had entered the room, and formed 
a group about the two men. Even Diego had 
awakened, and sat up in his corner, staring in 
surprise. When Columbus paused in his flow of 
words. Father Juan interposed: 

" You said you were on your way to either 
France or England —Sehor " 

"Cristoforo Colombo," answered Columbus. 
" Yes, father, I am about to try my fortune with 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 59 

the sovereigns of one of tliese two countries. My 
brother Bartolomeo is already in England, trying 
to interest the king in my behalf. If possible I 
shall go there." 

" This must not be," said Marchena, glancing at 
the group as if to find confirmation of his words. 
" Spain must not lose, through foolish indecision, 
such a chance." The last words he spoke in an 
undertone to himself; then he drew one of the 
monks aside and spoke to him for several minutes 
in an undertone, then dispatched him on some 
errand. In a fev/ minutes he returned with a 
peasant boy, to whom Father Juan gave some di- 
rections incomprehensible to Columbus, and the 
boy departed. The father now turned again to 
Columbus. 

"I have sent for two friends of mine, Sehor 
Colombo," said he, " to whom I should like you to 
explain your plans fully, as you have just now 
done to me. They will be here before long; mean- 
while — you are fresh from court — tell us the lat- 
est news of this terrible war with the infidels, the 
Moors." 

Father Juan Perez was an interesting compan- 
ion, and the time did not seem long to Columbus 
before the door opened, and the monk who had 
been so hurriedly dispatched returned, accompa- 



60 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

nied by two men, to whom he was forthwith pre- 
sented. One was Garcia Hernandez, a physician 
of Palos, an intelligent man, somewhat of a cos- 
mographer; the other, Alonzo Pinzon. Father 
Juan briefly explained his reasons for sending for 
them, and they seated themselves and jDrepared 
to listen to Columbus with the utmost attention. 
He described his views to them with even more 
enthusiasm and warmth than he had displayed 
with Father Juan alone. This time he felt sure 
of sympathetic hearers, and the monk watched 
him with great satisfaction. When he had fin- 
ished. Father Juan turned to the two friends he 
had summoned. 

" Well, what do you say to this, Garcia Her- 
nandez? This is no wild scheme of a madman, 
is it?" 

" In truth, it seems to me most plausible and 
well worthy of the risk," replied Hernandez. 

"And thou, Pinzon?" 

" I am ready — no, anxious — to embark in the 
first ship which sets sail Avestward under the guid- 
ance of Sehor Cristoforo Colombo!" cried the 
ship-owner and mariner Alonzo Pinzon, enthu- 
siastically. 

Columbus' face flushed with pleasure at these 
encouraging words. 



WITH COLUMBUS I?^ AMERICA. 61 

Juan Perez also looked pleased. 

"I shall write to Her Majesty," lie declared 
firmly. 

Columbus gazed at him somewhat sceptically, 
although deeply thankful to him for his symj)athy. 

"Father, for these seven years have I vainly 
tried to infiuence her or her nobles in my plans. 
1 have utterly failed, with one exception. I am 
convinced that it is the queen's counsellors who 
are most opposed to me, but this influence it is 
useless to combat.-' 

" It is not useless, my son; it can and shall be 
done," replied he, decidedly. " Sehor Colombo, 
you and your little son must remain with us as 
our guests for a few days, until 1 can receive 
an ansAver from Her Majesty. She must listen 
to you, and she Avill. For many years I was 
her father confessor, and I do not believe that I 
have lost all my influence with her. You have 
no definite plans; the delay will not seriously 
inconvenience you. You will stay, will you 
not?" 

Columbus assented willingly enough, but in a 
state of amazement. AVas it x^ossible that at 
last, at last, his fortunes were to turn? that there 
was hope, after all? The prior's confidence en- 
couraged him to new hope. 



62 WITH C0LU3IBUS IN AMP^RICA. 

That very day an epistle to the queen was dis- 
patched by a mounted messenger. 

Sooner than Columbus had dared hope for an 
answer, it arrived, summoning tlie prior to wait 
upon the queen in the camp before Grenada. 

In great excitement did Columbus await the 
return of his cliamx)ion, and when at last he 
arrived at La Rabida he brought most encourag- 
ing news. He brought a purse of money for Co- 
lumbus, and in December the indefatigable prior 
accompanied his ^protege to the camp, while his 
little son remained in charge of the Franciscans. 

Once more did Columbus urge his plans before 
the queen's counsellors, her confessor, and learned 
prelates, but here in Grenada he met with a far 
more favorable recex)tion than in Salamanca. Not 
an inch did his pride yield; and it was not until 
after much debating, hesitating, and indeed after 
having once utterly refused, that the queen con- 
sented to his demands. He had actually started 
for France, when his partisans j)re vailed upon her 
not to let this opportunity of a lifetime, of an 
age indeedj slip from her hands, and once more 
he was recalled. Not until April was the agree- 
ment finally signed, and Columbus vowed to de- 
vote all the wealth which he might obtain to the 
rescue of the Holy Sepulchre. 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 63 

When at length the little fleet of three vessels 
set sail, one under the command of his enthusi- 
astic sui)porter Martin Pinzon, on that Friday, 
August 3d, 1492, with what varied emotions did 
Columbus stand u^Don the deck of his shix) ! His 
wishes were fulfllled; the desire of his heart, his 
long-cherished plan, was to be carried out, he was 
to And the new route to the Indies! Not for an 
instant did he shudder at the thought of the long, 
dangerous voyage, the voyage over this vast, track- 
less ocean. No, his heart beat high, and his cour- 
age would suffice, that he knew. 




.p^^ 



YI. 

Father Juan stood at tlie window of liis lofty, 
spacious apartment. His gaze was fixed upon the 
infinite ocean, and his heart was torn with con- 
flicting emotions. 

The young curly, black-haired Jacob, the only 
son of his dead brother, caused him anxiety. 
The boy was Avide-awake, industrious, but his 
heart longed violently for a life of greater activity. 
Up to this time he had passed his days in a neigh- 
boring cloister, had enlarged his knowledge under 
the care of the prior there. Now the cloister 
rooms were too small for the boy, he wished to go 
out into the world among the students of Sala- 
manca. 

Father Juan knew that city, with its gloomy, 
narrow streets; knew the university, which, 
founded in the year 1222, now stood above all 
others, and gave scientific instruction to thousands 
of students. But he also knew the peril and 
dangers which threatened a young man there. 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 65 

He gazed out upon the sea. How calm it was to- 
day ! how many ships i)loughed their way through 
its waves, unsuspicious of danger! and in a few 
hours how the scene could change! A raging 
hurricane might sweep over the ocean, the weaves 
might tarn up mountain-high, and man's proud 
ships would be as much at the mercy of the 
mighty unchained elements as tiny nut-shells. 
Finally, all human knowledge and skill would 
fail in this struggle; man could but fold his hands 
and pray to God. This life is like the sea— to- 
day calm and peaceful, inviting us to long jour- 
neys, and to-morrow a prey to wild storms. 

All this Father Juan thought of, and he wished 
to warn the young Jacob, and, if the youth perse- 
vered in his wishes, to give him some good advice 
for his first journey out into the wide world. 

But Father Juan was disturbed in his revery. 
There was an impatient knock at the door, and a 
man of about thirty years of age, whose face wore 
an exiDression of the greatest excitement, entered 
the room. 

"Ah, it is you, Garcia Hernandez," said the 
prior, turning to him, " but wdiat in the w^oiid has 
excited you so? You are not the calm, composed 
scholar that you usually appear. What brings 
you to me?" 
5 



66 WITH COLUMBUS IIS" AMEEICA. 

Garcia Hernandez, who lived in tlie neighbor- 
ing town of Palos, was indeed a scholar, physi- 
cian, physicist, and cosmographist ; he was very 
learned, had a keen mind, and busied himself 
with studies in natural science, but, above all, w^as 
deeply interested in the distant countries of the 
earth, Avhich were still wrapped in a veil of mys- 
tery for human eyes, and of which but vague ideas 
w^ere held. He was usually most composed in his 
actions and manners, but to-day he seemed wholly 
robbed of all self-possession. His breath came 
rapidly, for he had fairly run to the cloister, and 
drawing a deep breath he cried, " Father Juan, 
do you remember the man Avho came to the cloister 
two years ago, the w^hite-haired man whom we 
recommended to Queen Isabella?" 

Garcia Hernandez seated himself on a chair, for 
his beating heart must first grow calm. 

"Christopher Columbus," said Father Juan, 
slowly, as though collecting his scattered thoughts 
and trying to recall something to his memory. 
"How should I have forgotten him? He w^as an 
extraordinary man ; in his eyes shone the fire of 
genius. Happy is he w^ho meets such a man in 
his life ! Most happy he whom God has blessed 
by permitting him to be of use to such a remarka- 
ble being ! By an interposition of God we were 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 67 

called to help Christopher Columbus to the means 
for his voyage. And was it not undertaken in a 
pious spirit? Did he not promise to give funds for 
a new crusade to Jerusalem, to free our Saviour's 
sacred truth from the hand of the Saracens? How 
often, as I have stood here at the window, and 
my thoughts i)ierced beyond the bounds of the 
horizon, has my spirit been with him and his 
vessels! How often has my heart trembled for 
him when the storm Avrapi^ed everything in mist 
and fog; for that is a journey for life and death 
— bolder indeed than all the voyages of the Por- 
tuguese, who have always hugged the coast of 
Africa. Ah, they advanced slowly, step by step, 
but Columbus has undertaken a truly heroic 
flight, and how often I ask myself in timid doubt, 
Is it not an Icarian flight? But your eyes sparkle 
joyously. Have you news of him ? Has he re- 
turned? " 

"Wonderful! Father Juan," cried Garcia Her- 
nandez, '' what rumors the merchants of Sevilla 
bring us! One of Columbus' ship-captains, Alonso 
Pinzon, you remember, has landed in the north- 
western part of Spain, in Bayonne, and has dis- 
patched accounts of truly discovered lands to the 
king. And Columbus himself — he was forced to 
put into Lisbon, owing to contrary winds. The 



68 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

envious Portuguese wished to take him prisoner, 
but the protecting letter of our king of Castile 
and Leon must be respected. Columbus can 
arrive in Palos at any hour now. And what does 
he bring with him! Wonders of wonders, red 
men, gay birds, rare spices, fruits such as we have 
never seen — and gold, Father Juan, solid gold in 
quantities." 

" Praised be God in Heaven ! " cried the father, 
clasping his hands. " So the great work has suc- 
ceeded, and the sea route to the wealthy Indies 
discovered ! " 

" Now you know it, Father Juan,- ' said Garcia 
Hernandez eagerly. " And I am going. I shall 
sit upon the shore and not leave it until I have 
pressed Columbus' hand. All the people are wild 
with excitement ! " 

" I too must greet the discoverer," replied the 
prior, "and accompany him to the house of God, 
that he may thank the Almighty for his protec- 
tion, without which all the letters of all the 
princes and powers of this world cannot avail to 
save us." 

With the greatest astonishment had young 
Jacob listened to this conversation. What was 
it which had so excited these two learned men? 
Red men? Were there such beings? Gay birds? 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 69 

gold, real gold, spices from tlie fairy-like Indies ! 
And they planned a new crusade; his uncle had 
spoken of it. 

All these things were riddles for the boy. He 
followed the father and Garcia Hernandez me- 
chanically, as they walked along engaged in an 
animated conversation. He did not understand 
what he heard of the conversation, but he jDUshed 
on, anxious to see all those wonders with his own 
eyes, for the bells of Palos were ringing gayly. 

A few hours later, Jacob, standing near his 
uncle, could have a good look at the man who 
was being lionized by all the inhabitants of the 
city. 

The famous navigator appeared older than he 
was, but all the hardships of the long sea-voyage 
had not bowed his tall, powerful figure. Jacob 
de Marchena could not take his eyes from him; a 
strange fascination attracted him to this man, and 
he followed him in the procession to the city 
with bent head, followed him as a dog follows his 
master, without being able to explain to himself 
why so suddenly every fibre of his heart seemed 
to go out to the stranger. It was the power of 
genius, and, strangely enough, he had scarcely 
a glance for the coj)X)er-colored Indians in their 
national garb ; he paid no attention to the strange 



70 WITH COLUMBUS 11^ AMEEICA. 

parrots, the spices; tlie gold excited no admira- 
tion — this man alone seemed great, admirable to 
him, this man who had achieved something which 
had been impossible for all his predecessors. 

He of course had no x)art in the conversation 
which the admiral, Columbus, carried on with his 
friends Father Juan and Garcia Hernandez — he 
was too young for this ; but he waited patiently 
outside the door until Columbus reappeared, and 
was content and happy to have seen him again. 

Columbus did not long remain in Palos. He 
hastened to Barcelona, where the court was then 
staying; he proceeded through all Sj^ain in tri- 
umph, and in triumph he entered Barcelona. 
When he appeared in the palace, accompanied by 
numerous nobles, the king and queen rose from 
their throne, and received him with the greatest 
honor and graciousness, even permitting him to 
sit in their presence. The fame of the great ex- 
ploring voyage spread throughout Sj^ain and the 
whole civilized world as well, and the admiral at 
ODce began fitting out a new fleet. 

But Jacob had remained in Palos, solitary and 
in quiet, and pondered over all that he had heard. 
He had for a long time been in the habit of spend- 
ing his leisure hours in the house of the physician 
and cosmograplier Garcia Hernandez, where, with 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMEEICA. 71 

lier mother, lived the physician's young sister, 
little Mercedes. There was a secret agreement 
between the two children, of which no one else 
knew that when Jacob should return from Sala- 
manca with his degree they should be married. 
This was their firm intention. 

Now, Jacob went here oftener than ever, but he 
chose the hours when he was sure to find Garcia 
at home. He kex)t near him, accompanied him 
on walks, and began to question the learned phy- 
sician upon all sorts of things relating to Colum- 
bus, about which young Jacob was very uncertain. 

Garcia Hernandez was pleased with this thirst 
for knowledge in the young man, and initiated 
him in the geograx)hical knowledge of that time. 
Through Hernandez's instructions, Jacob's men- 
tal horizon enlarged. Garcia told him of distant 
lands which had been visited by famous explor- 
ers, of the Avonderful India where all the jirecious 
spices grew, and of Columbus' plan to sail west 
and reach this wonderful land, since the overland 
route was endangered by the hostile Moors and 
Turks. 

" My young friend," said he, " Columbus' great 
voyage is but the first of many more famous voy- 
ages. The islands are rich in gold, and will* 
therefore allure many to their shores ; but whether 



72 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

those are really tlie kingdoms of Cathay and 
Cipango, or new lands of which we have as yet 
known nothing, the future alone can show. But 
if you are so deeply interested in such things, the 
letter which Columbus wrote to the king about 
his voyage will certainly interest you. I can give 
it to you. Read it and wonder! " 

Jacob seated himself in Garcia's arbor, and for 
the first time became clear as to the true, con- 
nected history of Columbus' first voyage. This 
letter was a kind of journal, beginning with the 
words: "After your Highnesses in this year 1492 
had finished the war against the Moors, who 
ruled in Europe, and had made peace in the great 
city of Granada, this same year, on the second 
day of the month January, I saw the banner of 
your Highnesses float on the towers of the Alham- 
bra, and saw the Moorish king march out of the 
city and kiss your Majesty's hands. 

" In the same month, your Highnesses as Catho- 
lics, and lovers and spreaders of the holy Christian 
religion, and as enemies of Mohammedanism and 
all idolatry and heresy, were pleased to send me, 
Christopher Columbus, to the region of the Indies 
of which I had spoken to your Highnesses, and 
ordered me to repair to the Grand Khan, which in 
our language means king of kings. You did not 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 73 

command me to travel in the usual way to the 
land of the Orient, but to reach India by a 
westward route across the sea, which, as far as 
one can tell, has never before been tried by any 
one." 

Then the discoverer related how he had resolved 
carefully to note doAvn all the events of the day, 
to make a new chart, and closed with the words: 
" It is of chief importance, therefore, that I learn 
to dispense with sleep, and pursue my way with 
endurance, and to fulfil all the obligations of a 
great work." 

Then young Jacob read of the voyage to the 
Canary Islands, and of the steering out into the 
unknown ocean. Far to the west, the geographers 
of that time suspected an island, Antilla, to which 
in the year 734 Spanish Christians had fled from 
the Moors. Columbus also believed in the exist- 
ence of this island, and in his ox)inion sailed quite 
near it, but his aim was India, and he therefore 
did not stop for secondary matters. For thirty- 
four days he saw only sky and water. What 
struggles ! what conflicts with his men, did he not 
endure ; how often was he deceived by a false cry 
of, "Land! Land!" until at last Guanahani, the 
small island which he called San Salvador, was 
reached. Young Jacob read and marvelled. Men 



74 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

neither black nor white, dogs which did not bark, 
did the admiral describe. Then they sailed from 
one island to another, until, in Cuba, Columbus 
thought he had reached the main land of Asia, in 
Hispaniola or Hayti, Cipango or Japan, and sent 
messengers to the Grand Khan. Errors these, 
which only a later period should refute. 

Garcia Hernandez might permit himself doubts, 
Jacob was entranced by other portions of the ac- 
count. He fancied himself with the admiral in 
Cuba. " The perfume of the flowers and trees," 
he read, " is sweet beyond description. Evidently 
there were cows here and other large animals, for 
skeletons with the heads of cows were found. 
All night long we could hear the birds singing, 
the twittering of sparrows, the chirping of crick- 
ets. The air was mild and balmy at night, neither 
cold nor hot." He followed the two Spaniards 
who had undertaken the first exploring tour of 
Cuba, and who had met many men and women, 
all of whom carried a glowing coal wrapped in 
fragrant herbs in their hands. They were dried 
herbs wrapped in one large dried leaf. They 
were lighted at one end; at the other end the 
j)eople drew in or, so to say, drank the smoke. 
"They become sleepy and intoxicated by this," 
wrote Columbus, "but they are evidently kept 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 75 

from weariness thereby. The x)eople call this 
dried herb tobacos^ 

Then the mention of the golden ornaments, and 
the admiral's ejaculation, '' May God in his mercy 
permit me to find the gold mines ! " Then the first 
Christmas in the New World, the storm and shii)- 
wreck of the Santa Maria^ the founding of the 
first settlement, Navidad or Christmas, upon His- 
paniola; then the dangerous return voyage over 
the stormy sea — all this the young reader de- 
voured. His thoughts flew to America, to the 
Spanish settlers in Navidad, and he longed to be 
there. He was a child of his times, and he firmly 
resolved to go. 

In one moment Salamanca and the university 
were forgotten. Mercedes joined him in the arbor, 
and to her he poured out his hopes and plans. 
She tried to dissuade him, but he persisted in his 
resolves; she pitied him, that he was going so 
young to a certain death. She even wept, but 
her tears had no effect upon the great Columbus' 
ardent admirer. 

The carrying out of his plans did not, to be sure, 
depend uj)on him alone. His guardian, Father 
Juan, must give his consent, as Jacob kne^v very 
well, and he applied to his friend Garcia Hernan- 
dez for assistance. 



76 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

There was great enthusiasm in Palos over the 
next voyage of Columbus, and the two friends of 
the former weary wanderer looked upon the great 
discovery as their work also, as it was through 
their recommendation to the queen that Columbus 
had secured the means for his first voyage. 
Therefore Jacob de Marchena had no very difficult 
task in obtaining his guardian's consent. He was 
already eighteen years old, and in Spain this 
means a more mature age than in northern coun- 
tries. He was strong and healthy, and the prior 
gave his consent. Columbus would not forget, in 
the person of the nephew, the service which the 
uncle had once rendered him ; of this the prior was 
sure, and so Jacob collected his small belongings, 
and with a happy heart set out for Cadiz to join 
the great fieet. 

For it was a great fleet which Columbus now 
had under his guidance. Seventeen vessels, twelve 
hundred armed men, with infantry and cavalry, 
were put at his disposal. He was now to take 
possession of the discovered land. The first 
settlers were already established in Navidad, and 
Columbus' rej^orts had had such an insx>iring 
eifect that not only adventurers, but also members 
of the Spanish nobility, were among the emigrants. 
They took with them European domestic animals, 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 77 

as well as grains, vegetables, and grai^e-vine cut- 
tings. The viceroy intended to found a colony on 
Hispaniola, and then to continue his voyage of 
exploration. He cherished a proud plan: not 
only would he visit those markets of the world, 
Cathay, Cipango, and India, but, sailing steadily 
westward, he would circumnavigate the globe. 
And he was sure of the success of his undertak- 
ing ! How near Japan was to Spain he had proved 
by his discoveries, and could declare that the 
earth was not nearly as large as astronomers and 
cosmographers had declared. 

He was wrong ; he had accomplished a greater 
deed than he knew ; he had discovered an entire 
hemisphere wholly unknown to humanity. But 
of this he had not the slightest idea when on the 
25th of September, 1493, his fleet weighed anchor 
in the harbor of Cadiz, and he began his second 
memorable voyage. 




yii. 

Slowly Columbus' fleet sailed through the 
group of Lesser Antilles toward the island of 
Hispaniola. On the 22d of November they reached 
it, and cries of joy resounded on board. The eyes 
of the admiral also sparkled joyously, for he built 
great hopes upon this splendid island. 

The settlers in Navidad had certainly not been 
idle; they had entered into trade with the natives, 
had exchanged the worthless trifles left with 
them for gold. So thought Columbus, and in his 
imagination this strange land must conceal other 
IDroducts which the settlers had probably learned 
of by this time. AVith all these treasures he 
wished to load part of his fleet and send them to 
the king of Spain. Then he looked for a sj)eedy 
prosperity in his vice-kingdom from these new 
supplies and troops. 

But the harbor of Navidad was a long distance 
away, and so they sailed into the harbor of Monte 
Christi, where they anchored. 



ITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 79 

As usual, several men landed to get a sujiply 
of water. Among these was Jacob de Marchena. 

Everything that he saw here was new. The 
trees, the flowers, the birds, all w^ere different 
from those of his home, and his astonished eyes 
wandered from one object to another. Here he 
now sat on the bank of a brook which issued from 
a little grove, and plunged noisily into the sea. 
Before him extended a grassy meadow, reaching 
to the edge of the sea. This was no grass such as 
they were familiar with in Europe; it was much 
higher and stronger. Gay butterflies floated 
above it. Busy insects hummed; they were all 
active, for the sun w^as just touching the edge of 
the horizon, and in the east the moon was rising, 
night was fast ai3j)roaching, night which brought 
resu to one swarm of insects and aAvakened another 
to life. His companions prepared to return to 
the boat and row back to the ship. One must 
be prudent in this strange land. Uni^leasant facts 
had been learned of other islands, and unmistaka- 
ble traces of cannibalism remarked along the coast. 

Jacob rose to follow his companions. His 
thoughts had wandered from these strange sur- 
roundings back to his far distant home in Spain, 
to the garden wiiere he had so often sat, to little 
Mercedes, his constant companion. How long 



80 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

would it be before lie would see her again, liow 
many, many years? Meclianically lie followed 
the men. When they drew near the boat, and 
the sun had just dropped out of sight, a brilliant 
insect flew close in front of him and seated itself 
upon a tall blade of grass. The bright spots on 
the beetle's breast shone like two green lanterns. 
The glow-worm could not be compared to this 
beautiful beetle; its brilliancy was a hundred 
times brighter, and of a wonderful beauty of 
color. Jacob de Marchena was suddenly seized 
with the desire to possess this living jewel; he 
drew near and tried to catch it. Away it flew, 
and Jacob after it. But he suddenly paused — a 
disagreeable odor of decomi^osition was notice- 
able ; and as he gazed in the direction from which 
it seemed to arise, a raven-like bird flew up out 
of the tall grass at his left. 

Urged on by curiosity, Jacob pushed on toward 
the sjDot; but he started back, for there before 
him lay the corpse of a man stretched out in the 
grass. He overcame his horror sufficiently to 
draw nearer; then a cry of alarm escaped him ; did 
the twilight deceive him, or was it really the 
corpse of a white man? 

Alarmed by the call, his companions stood still. 
He beckoned to them, and they approached. But 



AVITJI COLUMBUS IN AMP:RICA. 81 

no one could positively assert that this corpse 
was that of an Indian or a white man, as decom- 
position had progressed too far. But all recog- 
nized the cause of death of the unfortunate vic- 
tim: the man had been strangled; the cord still 
was twisted about his neck. 

Most of the men still stood around the mysteri- 
ous corpse in stux^id bewilderment, when one who 
had strolled slightly farther uttered a fresh ex- 
clamation of surx)rise; he had found a second, 
likewise unrecognizable corj^se, whose feet were 
tied together with a cord. 

As the twilight deei^ened, they tarried no 
longer on the shore. They hurried into the boat 
and rowed tovv^ard the vessel. They sat in silence, 
no one wished to be the first to give voice to his 
thoughts, but each one secretly feared that these 
w^ere the corj)ses of Spaniards, and that some 
misfortune had befallen the settlement. Navidad 
was indeed but twelve miles distant from the 
harbor of Monte Christi. 

This news was soon known to all on the ad- 
miral's ship; it awakened the same melancholy 
suspicions here. 

" You could not a'scertain positively that they 
were Indian corpses?" they asked the returned 
explorers. 



82 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

" No," was the short answer. 

Even the admiral Avas distressed ; he commanded 
that on the next morning the beach should be 
searched by a strong detachment of armed men. 
Until then, each was left to his own snsj)icions as 
to the fate of the Spaniards left in Navidad. 

Jacob sat on the fore-deck beside young Alonso 
Ojeda. 

" Matters look bad," said he. 

" Why? " asked Jacob de Marchena. 

"You have seen that the feet of one corpse 
were tied together; that proves that the settlers 
were overpowered and taken prisoners." 

"The settlers?" asked Marchena. "Could they 
not have been Indians whose bodies we found?" 

" If only they were not so near Navidad," re 
plied Ojeda, "and if the coast were not so de- 
serted! Why are there no signs of Indians? 
They have certainly seen us. And why do they 
not come on the beach as these wild men usually 
do ? They have guilty consciences ; they are afraid 
of us and therefore avoid us." 

" You express my own thoughts, Alonso," said 
Marchena. "I have thought the same myself, 
for why do the murderers avoid us? Only be- 
cause they see in us the avengers of the murdered 
ones ! " 



WITJI COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 83 

" You are perfect ravens," interrupted a sharp 
voice. Margarite, the commander of the troops, 
drew near. '• I forbid you to carry on such con- 
versations and dishearten the men. I expected 
diiferent things of tlie nobles of Castile— courage, 
but not faint-heartedness." 

"Oh, permit me but one word!" cried Ojeda. 
"True courage is shown not in conversations 
between two friends, but on the battle-field. But 
if you command I must of course be silent." 

"Pray hush, let us have no disputing! " cried 
Marchena. 

"What?" cried Margarita "No disputing? 
You have forgotten that your superior is before 
you. You add to your cowardice disobedience. 
Disputing? There can be no question of that. 
Whoever contradicts me is a mutineer." 

"Margarite!" called the mild voice of the ad- 
miral in the background. "I wish to speak to 
you." 

Margarite was forced to obey the admiral, who 
spoke to him calmly of the landing for the morrow, 
and of various plans for the future. He had 
heard the dispute, and was forced again to inter- 
fere conciliatingiy with his men. 

Man's worst enemy is his own passion, and 
therefore the admiral detained the violent colonel 



84 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

of liis troops until lie perceived tliat liis anger 
had vanished. 

"A vain fool! " said Ojeda, meanwhile. 

" But he is our caj^tain ! " rejilied Marchena. 

"The devil!" replied Ojeda. "I have not 
sailed to these islands under his rule. My judge 
is the king alone." 

" The king is far from us," said Marchena warn- 
ingly to his friend. 

" I know that very well," replied Ojeda. " One 
should have pondered deeply before putting such 
a wide, desolate waste of waters as this ocean be- 
tween himself and the crown of Castile and Leon, 
but I will know how to helx3 myself ! " 

He went away, and Jacob de Marchena gradu- 
ally fell fast asleep. He had become accustomed 
to these scenes during the long voyage. Ojeda, 
however, was joined by another Castilian, Fran- 
cisco Roldan. 

" Do not trust this greenhorn," said he in warn- 
ing to Ojeda. "He is a favorite of the Genoese, 
a child of his friend. Say yourself, should not 
the king have made a Spaniard admiral and vice- 
roy? Columbus would have sailed with the 
fleet as j)ilot. But he, the Italian, is our master, 
and has even brought his brother Diego along, 
who cringes to him like a dog." 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 85 

Ojecla was silent. To a certain extent the clever 
Roldan was right. Spanish pride revolted against 
being forced to serve under a foreigner and obey 
him. This pride also blinded them. They forgot 
that the Genoese was the discoverer of those lands 
in which they were now to found a New Spain. 

With the daAvn of the next day a number of 
boats put off to search the shore. The admiral 
was among the first to land, and close beside him 
were Marchena, Ojeda, Margarite, and Roldan. 

The coast was absolutely deserted; not a single 
native was visible ; nowhere, as far as the eye could 
reach, was a pillar of smoke visible to betray a 
human settlement. An uncanny stillness pre- 
vailed, unbroken by the song of birds. 

The men landed full of anxious expectation. 
First of all they sought the corpses found by 
Marchena the day before; even now, wdien the 
sun shone brightly down from the sky, they were 
unrecognizable. 

They now began to search the shore, arranged 
in long rows. The helmets of the Castilians 
sparkled over the grass, but for a long time no 
sound was uttered. 

The admiral sat under a tree and listened to the 
wonderful song of a bird which his eyes could not 
distinguish in the thick foliage. This melodious, 



86 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

vibrating song had already delighted him upon 
his first visit to this land ; he thought the bird a 
nightingale, and thus named it in his letters. 
Later this error was also j)roved. It was the mock- 
ing-bird, the king of American feathered song- 
sters, which so enchanted by its sweet tones the 
discoverer of the New World. 

He was so susceptible to the beauties of nature 
that for a moment he even forgot the fate of his 
settlers. 

A loud cry from Ojeda, "Here, here, Castil- 
ians ! " roused him from his reveries. He sprang 
np, and, accompanied by Marchena, went to the 
spot where the other Spaniards had assembled 
around Ojeda. As the two apx)roached the circle 
of men, who were crowding more and more closely 
together, Marchena heard Ojeda say to Margarite: 
"I do not wish to croak, captain; but tell me, 
have the natives such a heavy growth of beard? 
That is unfortunately a European beard. I would 
take my oath to that! " 

" There are exceptions everywhere," cried Mar- 
garite. 

Soon after Marchena stood near Columbus be- 
side the corpses; this one also was completely 
unrecognizable, but Ojeda was right — the Indians 
had no such heavy beards. 



WITH COLUMBUS IX AMERICA. 87 

" But he is naked," remarked one of the Span- 
iards. 

'' Oh, the garments would certainly be fine booty 
for the Indians," replied Ojeda, ironically. " Be- 
lieve me, comrade, none of us would be given 
to mother-earth in full state by these savages. 
Naked as w^e have come upon this earth will the 
Christians be thrown in the thickets and grass 
here after their death." 

The soldiers murmured in assent. Columbus 
also seemed to share Ojeda's opinion, for he did 
not waste time in further searching along this 
uncanny shore, but commanded that they return 
to the ships, weighed anchor, and steered toward 
Navidad. 

The night of the 27th of November had already 
descended when they perceived the heights of 
Navidad. The admiral knew this unfavorable, 
rocky entrance of the harbor, and therefore he 
remained outside for that night, and merely dis- 
charged two cannon to announce his arrival. But 
all remained silent on the shore. Not even a fire 
w^as kindled as signal. 

Hours of anxious expectation followed. 

The leaders and soldiers gazed across the sea 
looking for a boat or any sign of life, but all search 
was vain. 



88 WITH COLUMBUS m AMERICA. 

Few could close their eyes that night; all 
awaited with impatience the dawn. 

Near Marchena stood two Indians whom Co- 
lumbus had brought back to Spain, and who now 
accompanied the admiral as interj^reters. Their 
gaze also sought to pierce the darkness, for yon- 
der on the shore rose their huts; there stood the 
village in which their chief, Guacamari, ruled. 
They would see their friends and relatives again, 
and what news they had to relate to them ! What 
wonders they had seen! AVonders of the Old 
World which filled the children of the New World 
with even more astonishment than the famous 
sj)lendor of the American nature did the Sj^an- 
iards. Cities with their houses of stone, with 
their huge churches and high towers, strange 
animals, horses, oxen, goats, sheep — all these 
things which were unknown on the Antilles. 
And these men, these knights in dazzling armor, 
these sharj) swords of Toledo steel, and these 
powerful machines which belched forth thunder 
and lightning. Oh, yes, through their children, 
the two worlds had much to tell each otlier. 

Day had not yet dawned, the sea was still 
wrapped in darkness, when one of the Indians 
uttered a cry of joy, raised his hand, and pointed 
to the sea. 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMEIIICA. 89 

Involuntarily Marcliena gazed in the indicated 
direction, and there, on the water in which the 
stars were reflected, he discovered one of the small 
canoes of the natives. It came nearer and nearer 
to the admiral's ship, impelled by oars. IS'ow one 
could plainly see three naked forms with feathers 
on their heads seated in it. 

A strange excitement passed through the whole 
shi^D. 

The men crowded together, and sailors helped 
the new arrivals on board. 

The admiral stood near the mast. Api)arently 
calm and comj)osed, his heart yet secretly beat 
rapidl}^ In a few moments he would learn the 
fate of the men they had left behind. 

But why did only three Indians come to greet 
them? Why had not the Spaniards hastened to 
salute their brethren, to receive from their lips 
news of the old home on the other side of the 
ocean ? The admiral tried to banish these thoughts. 
He sought refuge in the hope that all would yet 
be happily explained. 

The Indians stood on deck. They gazed shyly 
at the strange Spaniards, and exchanged a few 
words with the Indian interpreters. 

"What do they say? What do they wish?" 
came from the group. 



90 WITH COLUMBUS I^ AMERICA. 

" They wisli to see the admiral," rej)lied the 
interpreters. 

" Good, let lis take them to him." 

In a moment the three sons of the wilderness 
stood before the great discoverer. Their eyes 
were fixed iix)on his tall form, sought to pierce 
the darkness of night, but in vain, they could not 
distinguish his features. 

Again they turned to the interpreters. 

" They wish to have a light that they may see 
if it is really the admiral." 

Soon wax candles were brought, and by their 
light the Indians recognized the strange white 
man with the bright blue eyes. Yes, it was he, 
and they greeted him. 

One of them introduced himself as a cousin of 
the chief, Guacamari. But why this ceremony! 

" How are the Christians? " they were asked. 

The answer came slowly, hesitatingly. 

" They are well," said the cousin of the chief, 
"but not all, for some were carried off by sick- 
ness, others again were killed by their own 
brothers in a fight, and others fell in battle with 
our enemies. We are glad that you have come 
again, for we have experienced hard times." 

" Other kings, Caonabo and Manin, have in- 
vaded our land with their hordes of warriors— 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 91 

our village is desolated, our king Guacamari 
wounded. He would gladly have come to greet 
you, but lie Avas forced to stay at home, for he can- 
not walk." 

This was not such good news as they had hoped 
for, but the Spaniards were nevertheless consoled. 

Navidad still existed, and the settlers had surely 
explored the country. The colonies must surely 
flourish now, when they brought such abundant 
suj)plies, horses and cattle, vegetables and grain 
of all kinds, and hundreds who wished to settle 
there. 

Meanwhile day dawned, the sun rose dazzlingly 
from the waves of the ocean. His rays irradiated 
the shore, but not a soul was to be seen there. 

Why prolong this uncertainty? A detachment 
of Sj^anish soldiers landed, Margarite at their 
head, and our friends Ojeda and Marchena among 
them. The Sx)aniards directed their steps toward 
the village of Guacamari, near which lay the set- 
tlement. 

But what a sight! Not one of the natives', 
miserable huts w^as left standing; only heaps of 
ashes indicated the spots w^here once humble 
human habitations had been. And Navidad! 
There stood a bare ruin ; a desolate, fire-blackened 
ruin. The Spanish bulwarks were half burned 



i>2 WITH coLrMBr> rx America. 

down, half torn down. And where were the sur- 
vivors { They looked for the Indians who could 
give them information, but they ke^n at a dis- 
tance: they avoided the Spaniards as though they 
had in fact guilty consciences. Or did they fear 
them ? 

Margarite made use of other means; he allured 
the savages to him with all kinds of trities. with 
little bells and glass beads: and finally they did 
approach him, and were induced to go to the ad- 
mirars ship. They were well treated and gradu- 
ally their tongues loosened. 

"The Spaniards are all dead," was their answer: 
"Caonabo and Maynin killed them all. Guaca- 
mari lies in a hut in the interior, wounded by a 
spear- thrust in his foot." 

"Where is this Caonabo.'" cried Ojeda. stamp- 
ing his foot and gi*asj)ing his sword-hilt. "* ^'en- 
geance for the Spanish blood shed ! "* 

Columbus glanced calmly at the enraged man. 

'* Do not be so hasty in your jtidgment," said 
he, turning to them all. "Do you know posi- 
tively that these savages are guilty? Let us first 
make inquiries and investigations, and not alann 
the naked children of the Xew AVorld by warlike 
demeanor. Eh, Roldan," he continued, "you 
have been appointed judge of the new settlement; 



WITH COLUMBUS IX AMERICA. 93 

your judgment is calm and moderate. Say, is it 
not better to conquer peaceably tlian to make 
our way over corpses? " 

" Listen to the admiral," said Roldan, bowing 
deeply. "He has piloted us safely across the 
boundless ocean, we must trust his wisdom in this 
also." 

Then he walked away ; but when he stood be- 
hind Ojeda, he whispered in his ear: "He is a 
foreigner; what does he care for spilt Sx)anisli 
blood ? " 

The admiral landed, himself, to visit the chief, 
Guacamari. Chanca, the surgeon, accompanied 
him, and among the soldiers was Marchena again. 

"Caonalj;), Maynin," murmured Ojeda, as they 
marched through the tall grass, '^ it is all the same 
what these wretches are called. They all are 
rapacious dogs, a band of murderers— no better 
than the remorseless cannibals on the other 
islands." 

" You are right, Ojeda," replied a short, stout 
man, Castaneda by name, who had turned his 
back to Spain because of too frequent conflicts 
with the law. " They deserve death. These gold 
coins are far too good to hang in the ears and 
noses of these devils. They must fill our purses. 
Let us pull their ears out and cut off their noses." 



94 WITH COLUMBUS 11^ AMERICA. 

" Shame on yon, Castaneda," said Marchena. 
" They are men like ns." 

"Ha, ha!" langhed Castaneda, "look at the 
dainty doll! Yon really deserve to be the ad- 
miral's favorite ! " 

Marchena flnshed. Doll! Slionld he snbmit to 
snch insnlt? He was abont to answer the mocker, 
bnt at this moment they heard calls from the ad- 
vance gnard. 

An Indian village had been reached. Six or 
seven miserable lints bnilt of light staves and 
grass formed the whole nnmber. All was silence, 
not an inhabitant was in sight ; they had fled from 
the apx)roacliing Spaniards. 

" Ha, let ns rnmmage the pig-pen," cried Casta- 
neda. " They are men like ns, and do not even 
know how to bnild a decent honse! " 

They entered the low hovels. 

" Gang of thieves ! " cried Castaneda. " Here 
we have it! Ha, is that a fine Moorish mantle; 
and see, rolled np jnst as it came from Castile ! 
They have stolen it, bnt it was valueless to them. 
Snch pariahs do not even know how to pnt on 
clothes ! And here are stockings— they prefer to 
run barefoot — and what is an anchor doing here ! 
They snrely do not wish to anchor their frail little 
skiffs!" 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMEKICA. 95 

"That is wreckage," cried Ojecla; "the anchor 
belonged to the admiral's first ship, which stranded 
here on this coast; it belonged to the Santa 
Maria ! " 

"Halt!" cried Marchena, "here hangs some- 
thing; it feels quite hard through the covering. 
Comrades, it is a ham ! " 

He drew out his knife and cut the cloth casing, 
but he started back, deathly pale. 

"Ha, dolly, are you afraid?" said Castaneda 
scornfully, and sprang up to it. " Let us see what 
it is. Oh! a man's head! But it did not belong 
upon a Spanish neck ; it is a beardless Indian's 
head; perhaps it is the chief's, the king of this 
village, which is hung up in this stately hut, this 
most magnificent of temples ; let us leave it hang- 
ing! It is human, Marchena, to bury the dead 
thus!" 

The Spaniards left the huts after they had 
taken wdtli them the property of the murdered 
settlers of Navidad. Similar finds had been made 
in the other huts. 

They tarried no longer in the deserted village, 
and pushed on to the residence of Guacamari. 
The same miserable huts met their gaze, as they 
reached the village situated in very low^ lands. 

" In truth a magnificent country this, to w^hich 



96 • • WITH COLUMBtTS IN AMERICA. 

the admiral leads the nobility of Castile," said 
Castaneda, approaching Ojeda. 

" Hush, he is the king's viceroy," said Roldan. 
" But we will not be premature in our judgment. 
Who knows? Perhaps this Mr. Cluacamari sits 
on a golden throne or lies in a bed of solid gold." 

Beside Columbus, Roldan, Ojeda, Marchena, 
and the physician Chanca entered the hut in 
which the sick chief lay. His bed was not of 
solid gold, bat it astonished the Spaniards. jN'o, 
such a swinging bed they had never seen before. 
It was a netting of strong cotton threads, and 
fastened by both ends to the jjosts of the hut. 

"That is curious," said Castaneda, "I should 
like to pitch the fellow out at once and see how 
one can sleep in it." 

One must i^ardon the Spaniards their astonish- 
ment, for it was the first hammock which they 
had ever seen in their lives. 

With the help of the inter j)reters the admiral 
sought to communicate with the chief. The latter 
laid all the blame of the Spaniards' murder upon 
the chiefs Caonabo and Maynin. He himself had 
been wounded in the fight by a stone from a 
sling. 

"Lies have short legs," said Ojeda; "see how 
they contradict themselves. His cousin said 



WITH COLUMBUS I^- AMERICA. 97 

Guacamari Avas wounded by a spear-tlirust, and 
Guacamari liimself speaks of slings." 

" Doctor,'' said Castaneda, " you niiglit examine 
the wound." 

Clianca did in fact offer to cure the chief, but 
it was too dark in the room to examine the 
wounded foot, and so, leaning upon Columbus, 
the chief went out into the open air. 

The foot was bandaged. Chanca loosened the 
cloths, but was unable to find the slightest trace 
of a wound. Nevertheless the chief complained 
of unbearable agony. 

" Look at the liar ! " cried Castaneda. 

" He is guilty of the murders in Navidad," burst 
out Ojeda. 

" Hush, friends," said Eoldan, so softly that the 
admiral could not hear him, "they were only 
Spaniards, no Genoese." 

" Admiral," said Ojeda, advancing, '' their guilt 
is i^roved. The chief must be arrested. Our 
countrymen's blood cries for vengeance. An ex- 
ample must be made. These savages must learn 
that they cannot murder Spaniards and go un- 
punished." 

But Columbus shook his head. 

"Is not his village burned down?" he replied. 
"Was he not forced to flee to this desert place? 



98 WITE COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

Much speaks against liim, but also much for him. 
Let us be mild and not too hasty in our judgment. 
When I first came to this country, where God 
willed for me to undergo severe trials, Guacamari 
was my friend. I cannot f oi^get that ; and besides 
you did not understand what we spoke about 
together; he complained of the manner in which 
the Spaniards have opiDressed his i3eople." 

The admiral w^as silent and stood absorbed in 
thought. Before his eyes the fate of Navidad, 
the first settlement founded by him, now rose 
clearly. 

Instead of meeting the natives cordially, the 
settlers had treated them horribly. Doubtless 
first of all, the little king Guacamari and his peo- 
ple had been subjugated. All his gold had been 
taken from him, his people enslaved. He must 
obey the powerful strangers; he sighed under 
their yoke. But these strangers, after plundering 
Guacamari's district, had extended their plunder- 
ing expeditions. They attacked the neighboring, 
more powerful tribes, but overestimated their 
power. But thirty-nine Spaniards had remained 
in Navidad, each single chief could x>lace hundreds 
of warriors in the field. Thus the Spaniards must 
have been vanquished in the skirmishes; the 
bodies on the shore of Monte Christi proved it. 



AVITII COLUMBUS IN AMEKICA. 99 

Encouraged by tliese successes, tlie savages re- 
solved wholly to exterminate tliese ox)pressors who 
seemed to have fallen from the clouds. The chiefs 
formed an alliance. One night their warriors 
advanced stealthily upon Navidad. In the fight 
Guacamari's village, as well as the settlers' fortress, 
was destroyed. The enemies were dead, and the 
oppressed Indians breathed freely. Guacamari 
wisely had been but an inactive spectator of this 
fight probably. Thus thought the admiral, and 
without anger for the chief. 

But while Columbus, with bleeding heart, pon- 
dered nj)on the fatal story of his first settlement, 
Roldan whisxDered to his comrades : " Do you 
notice, the Spaniards were the first to begin the 
fight ; it is the fault of the Sj^aniards that they 
were killed." 

" Only wait," replied Castaneda, " we will soon 
be commanded to serve Mr. Guacamari as lackeys ; 
but he does not seem rich to me; the feathers on 
his head are not worth much, and the two gold 
pieces in his ears are not even worth a ducat. Oh, 
it is a rich land to which the Genoese has brought 
us." 

Guacamari followed Columbus to the ship. 
There he found the Indian women whom they 
had brought away from the Carib Islands. The 



100 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

chief conversed with the women in his language, 
which was so incomprehensible to the Sx)aniards; 
then he admired the horses and cattle which Co- 
lumbus had brought with him from Sj^ain. The 
animals were new to him, for on the Antilles, ex- 
cept dogs, rats, and such like, there were no large 
animals. A hundred years later, indeed, His- 
paniola was the Eldorado of bull-fights, but these 
bulls descended from animals which had run away 
from the Spanish settlements, and had become 
wild among the savannas of Hispaniola. A hun- 
dred years later there were droves of wild horses 
and herds of wild swine. But these were, so to 
say, gifts which the Old World had brought to the 
island kingdom of the Antilles. 

All this was new to the chief Guacamari. But 
he was not seized with a religious aw^e of the 
whites wdio were one day under Cortez to make 
the civilized emperors of Mexico and Peru tremble. 
No, Guacamari was a wdly savage and knew how 
to help himself. 

At even, he returned to his village, having 
escax)ed in the darkness with the Indian woman 
with wdiom he had spoken. And when the Span- 
iards landed to demand back their captives, there 
w^as not a trace to be found of either Guacamari 
or his subjects. 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 101 

Weary with vain seeking, the Spaniards returned 
to their ships, and Roldan said scornfully : " How 
well the admiral knows these savages ! Did he not 
wish yesterday to found a city here on the site of 
the destroyed Navidad ? I fear we will starve 
here, for our provisions are on the wane, and I 
see neither wheat nor rye fields. These people 
prepare themselves a kind of flour out of roots, 
and eat rats and fishes, but that is no suitable food 
for any length of time for a Castilian stomach." 

Thus dissatisfaction increased among the people 
even at their first landing upon the blessed island 
of Hispaniola. The majority of the Spaniards 
had come here thinking that they could here col- 
lect treasures of gold without the slightest exer- 
tion, and return as Avealthy men to the Old World 
by the first ship that sailed. They now perceived 
a country which in spite of all its natural beauty 
seemed poor to them, with its destroyed fortresses 
and desolate, miserable villages. 

" He filled his mouth a little too full," sneered 
Castaneda, " but we should have told ourselves 
from the start, that in Genoa bragging is part of 
the trade." 

"And it was not even an honorable battle," 
complained Ojeda; "the wretched robbers seem to 
venture nocturnal attacks alone." 



102 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMEKICA. 

All these speeches cut young Marchena to the 
heart. He had learned from Garcia Hernandez 
that long voyages are of other value to humanity 
beside mere collecting of glittering gold. By 
them the treasures of human knowledge are en- 
larged. And how greatly that was the case here ! 
Other human beings, new kinds of birds, unknown 
flowers, trees of all kinds, so totally different 
from those which grew in Spain. At each step 
the eye was caught by new sights, everywhere an 
inexhaustible fund for thought was offered to 
the mind. The words of Erastothenes, which 
Marchena had heard from Garcia's lips, echoed in 
the boy's heart: that in the distant regions of 
the earth there might be new island Avorlds, and 
that on these, as Strabo added, the animals and 
plants must also be of different appearance. 

How often already on this journey had he 
watched the admiral, as he stood thoughtfully be- 
fore a tree or bush, as he dug up a root and tried 
to taste it. Columbus not only sought for gold, 
but wished also to find out the other treasures of 
nature. In truth, to accomplish this it was neces- 
sary to toil hard ; and in the crowd of' adventurous 
Castilians who had followed him, there were but 
few who really wished to work. 

The detachment sent to search for Guacamari 



AYITH COLUMBUS IN AMEKICA. 103 

had again assembled in the ships. Columbus 
himself must now give up his plan of rebuilding 
Navidad. Besides, the country here was moist 
and swamijy, and therefore unhealthy. He sailed 
farther along the coast to lind a suitable place 
for the founding of a colony. 

This short voyage was much harder than the 
long one across the ocean, for day by day storms 
arose, contrary winds which prevented them either 
from landing or advancing. For three months 
the fleet battled Avith the elements, until at length, 
ten miles on the other side of the harbor of Monte 
Christi, a place was found upon which a new 
settlement could be built. 

With ardent prayers of thanks the Spaniards 
landed, for their sufferings had been unbounded. 
They had lived on short rations to save x)rovisions ; 
many had been ill, and nearly all were weakened. 
Now they all longed for the Indian food, for that 
kind of turnip which the Indian women offered 
for sale in tall baskets. The Indians called them 
ages; they were the American potatoes. 

At this time the Castilians did not ask for 
gold — they only wished to purchase food ; and how 
glad they were that the savages would give it to 
them in exchange for all kinds of valueless trifles, 
even for china and glass beads. 



104 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

Marcliena sat shivering beside a quickly kindled 
fire; lie was feverish and hungry at once! Casta- 
neda had borne all the trials of this dangerous 
voyage better; he glanced scornfully at the young 
man and said: "Dolly, we have not seen each 
other for months. You were always on the ad- 
miral's ship ; but say, Dolly, you look very pale. 
If only you had remained in Castile! " 

He walked on, for in this moment of need he 
had his little business to attend to. While others 
traded for the necessaries of life, Castaneda began 
to bargain with the Indians for gold. 




yiii. 



From tlie mountains whose summits could be 
seen in the distance, a clear stream descended 
and emptied into the sea. At the mouth of this 
stream the city of Isabella was founded. It was 
bounded on one side by water and such a steep 
group of rocks that the city needed scarcely any 
fortifications ; the other side was enclosed by such 
a thick hedge that even a rabbit could scarcely 
slip through. The trees and bushes were so fresh 
and green that they would resist any fire. 

A scene of great activity soon presented itself 
here. The axe resounded in the forest, and logs 
were hauled to build strong block-houses; they 
even began to divert a branch of the stream, and, 
according to the architect's plan, lead it through 
the city to turn the wheels of saw-mills, and thus 
be enabled to build all kinds of factories for which 
water-power is required. 

The Indians came and were astonished. What 
kinds of tools were these ? What was that dark, 



106 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

shining metal which pierced the hardest metal? 
The iron api^eared much more valuable to them 
than all the gold of the island, for these savages 
were unacquainted with it. Their knives, axes, 
and spears they made of stone, as did our fore- 
fathers in Europe, in the dark ages. But while 
some settlers built the city, others handled spades, 
and laid out gardens in this New World, in which 
all kinds of vegetables and grains were sown. 
Now they wondered at the fertility of the soil and 
the mildness of the climate, for all these plants 
grew more in a week here than in three at home. 

There were, to be sure, disax^pointments also, 
for the chief subsistence of man, the grains which 
they had brought with them from Europe, would 
not thrive. Affairs did not run as smoothly here 
as on Crusoe's wonderful island. 

Nothing makes men hapx)ier than work — hard, 
continuous work. It banishes all evil thoughts ; 
envy and dissent have no power over really in- 
dustrious peoi)le. The Spaniards must now work, 
that they knew; they must have roofs to cover 
their heads before they could think of anything 
else, and there were over a thousand people work- 
ing diligently here. 

Unfortunately they could not all work with the 
same strength. This perpetual spring of the 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMEKICA. 107 

Antilles was treacherous. It did not strengthen 
their frames with its mild breezes, but enervated 
them. Fever lurked in the damp hollows and 
swamps, and laid one after another of the Chris- 
tians upon a sick-bed. The admiral also fell a 
victim, and was so weak and ill that for thre5 
months he was unable to write up his diary. 

Young Marchena took as good care of him as 
he could; he saw that all Dr. Chanca's orders 
were carried out minutely. Although he himself 
was weak and ill, he did not leave the bedside of 
the admiral, who was for him no foreigner, no 
Genoese, but a great hero. 

Columbus' brother, Diego, as the Spaniards had 
translated his name, Giacomo, meanwhile under- 
took the governing of the new settlement. Now 
the Spaniards grumbled still more. "I had 
thought you would be the representative of the 
invalid," said Roldan to Margarite, and the latter 
replied : 

" The precedence really belongs to the judge, 
Roldan; but hush! viceroys and rulers should 
here be foreigners alone; the Spaniards are good 
enough to die for the fame of the Genoese." 

Now Marchena appeared among his friends, 
so he was eyed askant. 

" The doll is not so stupid as you think," said 



108 WITH COLUMBUS I^ AMERICA. 

Castaneda, when they were again alone ; " the boy 
is sly : he ingratiates himself more and more with 
the admiral ; he will some tine day be made ade- 
lantado (governor). You will see ! " 

But better times were in store. In spite of 
mckness and want, the city, such as it was, was 
built. The cattle brought with them from Europe 
throve fairly well on the neighboring meadows. 
The Spaniards had gradually accustomed them- 
selves to the food which the land afforded, and 
from time to time received rations from the ship 
supplies. The Indians of the region were reduced 
partly to a tributary state, and forced to pay a 
tribute of the fruits of their land to the white 
men. And they did so willingly enough, for 
what wonderful beings these were, who rode these 
horses, these strange animals ! They both admired 
and feared the Spaniards. What availed their 
lances against the machines which sjjit fire, or 
against the sharp ring of Toledo steel ? The 
Sj)aniards had brought something else with them 
before which the Indians recoiled in terror — dogs, 
but no lap-dogs like the tame animals of the 
Antilles, but those feared bloodhounds which 
were trained to fight human beings, and which 
later filled the New World with horror of their 
deeds. Later there were celebrated bloodhounds 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 109 

in the bands of Spanish adventurers, which often 
tore in pieces more Indians than tlieir masters 
could lull, and in the division of booty won a 
larger share than the bravest soldier. Even at 
that time, the Sjjaniards had brought these fight- 
ing comrades to the New World, and one or the 
other unruly Indian had felt their sharp teeth. 
There were no beasts of prey upon the island of 
Hispaniola, ancl so these new opponents seemed 
all the more fearful to the Indians. 

At first the Si3aniards had been unable to un- 
derstand the Indians' speech, but gradually from 
necessity they learned this language, and the 
chaplain, Boyle, could begin the difficult task of 
conversion. 

But unfortunately the conquerors of the New 
World Avere not active in the work of Christianiz- 
ing these Indians. The Spaniards were still bar- 
barians ; the influence of the Moorish rule had not 
yet been overcome ; and in Andalusia, slave mar- 
kets still flourished. Besides, they regarded the 
Indians as inferior beings ; the settlers considered 
themselves their unbounded masters, and made 
slaves of the natives whenever they chose. That 
was the custom of the times, and even Columbus 
made no scruj^le of sending living, cargoes back to 
Spain. 



110 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMEEICA. 

Meanwhile tliey had been busy making inqui- 
ries as to gold mines in the neighborhood. The 
brave Ojeda undertook a journey of exx)loration 
to Niti, where Caonabo, the murderer of the 
Christians, lived, and returned with tangible 
proofs of the wealth of gold in the land, in the 
shape of nuggets of gold as thick as his linger. 

But news had been brought to the admiral of a 
land still richer in gold. It lay but twenty Span- 
ish miles from the city of Isabella, and was called 
Cibao. 

Cibao! What recollections and suspicions did 
this name awaken in Columbus' mind ! 

On his llrst journey he had been firmly con- 
vinced that in Cuba he had reached the east coast 
of Asia, the land of the great khan; now the 
richest region of this island was called Cibao; was 
not this name similar to Cipango — that island 
rich in gold which lay oif the east coast of Africa? 
Yes, in his mind there was no longer any doubt 
that he was now u^jon this island ; and so he re- 
solved to visit Cibao himself. 

He selected the most reliable men, and with 
floating flags and to the sound of martial music 
the admiral marched into the interior of the land. 

They found a charming region, both mountain- 
ous and with level stretches of grass land; numer- 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. Ill 

ous streams had their sources in the mountains, 
and along these streams were built the natives' 
huts. Around these huts stretched fields of po- 
tatoes. 

The Indians received the exploring Spaniards 
with awe, and, when they were questioned about 
gold mines, pointed to the sand along the banks 
of the rivers. Detachments wei:e sent out in dif- 
ferent directions, and with feverish haste the 
soldiers began to dig in the sand and wash it out. 

Cries of joy resounded from all sides : each of 
the gold-washers held in his hand little grains 
and lumi^s of the noble metal. The first results 
encouraged the seekers; the work was continued 
from early morning to late in the night of the 
next days;, the Indians were forced into the work, 
and the grains increased with each hour; they 
even found lumps of gold as large as a hazelnut, 
and one day the delighted admiral held in his 
hand a shining nugget as large as a goose-egg. 

He had not deceived himself. God had led him 
in the right way; he certainly now stood upon the 
soil of the gold island Cipango, and another 
thought flashed through his mind — he had found 
the gold-yielding Ophir of Solomon. 

Now he could return to Isabella, could send 
back the superfluous ships to Spain, laden with 



112 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

specimens of the treasures discovered, and beg the 
king to send fresh supplies. Supi)lies— these the 
new settlers needed above everything. Clothes, 
tools, drugs, all these the old home must furnish 
in the beginning. Yes, even flour and meat, for 
the Sx)aniards could not live ux)on the food of the 
savages alone. 

Columbus surveyed his magnificent Ophir, and 
with proud emotion named it Vega-real. Here 
should the first advance stations of the Spaniards 
in the interior of the country be erected. Mar- 
garite was stationed in a block-house with sixty 
soldiers, to guard the rich gold mines. 

In the eyes of the admiral this gold was no 
ownerless property: it belonged to the king of 
Spain, and to him, the discoverer; therefore he 
made a law that each person should deliver a 
third part of the gold found to the government in 
Isabella. Margarite was chosen to see to the en- 
forcing of this order, to which the Spaniards, 
dazzled by the glitter of such abundant treasure, 
submitted without a murmur. 

But the admiral was no adventurer who was 
bent only on the search for gold; his ambition 
soared higher — he did not wish the title of viceroy 
to be but an empty name, and so he sought to 
assure the future of his colony from the outset. 



WITH COLUMBUS IX AMEllICA. 113 

In the neighborhood of IsabeHa, attempts at 
farming had already been niade. The soil in 
Yega-real seemed to him even more fruitful, and 
the wide savannas especially adapted to cattle- 
raising. Therefore a farming station should also 
be laid out here near the gold mines. 

Columbus mentally passed in review the band 
of men who had crossed the ocean with him. 

Who of all these was best suited to carry out 
this plan? He thought of the most distinguished, 
but was forced to abandon this idea with a shake 
of the head. These people had come to the New 
AVorld with other intentions. They had heard of 
boundless riches, and wished to accumulate these 
so as to return home wealthy as soon as possible. 

They all thought only of gold, of enjoyment, 
but drew back at the thought of work. Planters ! 
farmers! No, these occupations they would not 
engage in; they could have been these in Spain. 

" See the foreigner," the colonists already mur- 
mured among themselves; ''he wishes to make 
us his vassals ! " 

Then his eyes fell upon young Jacob de Mar"^; 
chena. In the cloister where he had received 
his education, he had also learned gardening; he 
had been obliged to work Avith the rest, and knew 
how to dig and plant as did scarcely another 



114 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

among the settlers. In tlie vegetable gardens of 
Isabella he was the most industrious worker. 
And he had yet another advantage : of almost all 
the adventurers who had sailed under Columbus' 
banner to take possession of the NeAV World, he 
was i^erhaps the only one who had sympathy or 
pity for the Indians, v/ho perceived in them his 
brother-men. When they performed their en- 
forced tasks in the fields of Isabella, he did not 
swing a stick over their backs if the work pro- 
ceeded slowly; he sought to teach them, to en- 
courage them by good work, and that was easy 
for him, as he was actively engaged in learning 
the language of the savages, and trying to under- 
stand their manner of thinking. Thus he recog- 
nized the deep gulf which separated the Indians 
from the Europeans. In his eyes, these savages 
were sx)oiled children who must be brought into 
the right Avay by painstaking training. 

This young man seemed to Columbus peculiarly 
suited to here win from the earth other treasures 
than glittering gold. He was seldom seen among 
the gold- washers, but could be found at the out- 
skirts of the forest, collecting plants, digging 
roots; or he was found engaged in conversation 
with the Indians, from whom he learned the 
value of his finds. 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 115 

Yes, here was a man such as Columbus sought. 
The admiral summoned March ena and gave him 
his commissions. 

How the young man's eyes sparkled ! he felt so 
pleased at this confidence that he kissed the ad- 
miral's hand. 

Thus Marchena was made first Jiaciendero in 
the delightful Yega-real, situated between two 
ranges of mountains, and his hacienda was sub- 
ject, not to Colonel Margarite, but to the represen- 
tative of the admiral directly, to his brother, Diego. 

Marchena could choose land for the buildings 
where he would. He received some head of cattle 
of which he was to have charge, he received farm- 
ing utensils, a supj^ly of sugar-cane, grapevine 
cuttings, and several kinds of seeds, but no la- 
borers. It would be hard indeed for the young- 
man to find a Spaniard who would obey him; he 
must seek his laborers, himself, among the Indians. 

He soon found a suitable site in Yega-real, at 
the foot of the wooded mountains, for his settle- 
ment and an Indian village, which from this time 
should be subject to him. Then the cattle were 
driven thither from Isabella. The king's bailiff, 
Marchena, followed proudly ; he passed the gold- 
washings and Margarite's fort and pushed on. 
He purposely wished to avoid the gold-seekers, 



116 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

and had therefore settled some miles distant from 
them. He relinquished the protection of the sol- 
diers, for he wished not to make war upon the 
Indians, but to live in peace with them. He re- 
lied firmly upon another, higher protection, Avith- 
out which — his guardian's words still rang in his 
heart —all the letters of princes and all the protec- 
tion of the world cannot avail. 

The gold-seekers let him go his way. 

The brave Ojeda smiled scornfully. But Casta- 
neda accosted him and said: "I wish you much 
good fortune, Sir Haciendero ; but one need not 
cross the ocean to attain that. You could have 
been a cowherd in Spain ! " 

Marchena paid no attention to this speech. He 
went his way, thinking: "If in spite of all their 
gold they become hungry some fine day, they 
will come to me soon enough ! " 





IX. 



Months had passed. On a liill in Yega-real rose 
tlie little hacienda^ a small but pleasant house 
with a veranda. Upon this veranda, the bailiff, 
Marchena, sat of evenings, and surveyed his king- 
dom. 

On the north side of the house, along which ran 
the veranda, gay flowering troi)ical jDlants grew, 
but on the other side the grapevines had already 
taken root and bloomed for the first time in His- 
paniola. Before the veranda, in a sheltered situ- 
ation, were beds of all kinds of vegetables : here 
stood radishes, there jiarsley; yonder yellow 
blossomed cucumber and melon vines climbed 
stout sticks, Eurox)e's children who throve well 
in the tropics. 

Bailiff Marchena took pleasure in them, but 
the bailiff Marchena was a clever man ; he knew 
very well that he could not satisfy hungry stom- 
achs with these. His fields lay elsewhere, at the 
foot of the hill. 



118 WITH COLUMBUS IN A.MEEICA. 

There were little X3atches of wheat, rye, and bar- 
ley, but they looked very unpromising. If he 
could but obtain a crop ! He himself had little 
hope for this year. 

On this island he had had no predecessor in 
Spanish farming; he did not understand the cli- 
mate; he must first become familiar with the 
change of seasons, so as to govern his planting 
thereby. He was convinced that in time his 
efforts would succeed, but for the jDresent he must 
do without rye and wheat bread. 

But during this period of his efforts, he had no 
desire to suffer from hunger, and so near these 
experimental fields he had others of a more certain 
character. In these he planted what the land 
already yielded — potatoes and beans — which were 
far finer than the kind of bean then known to 
Europe. Of these he had now a great supj)ly, 
and was proud that his liacienda could now be 
of assistance to the Sj)aniards at the gold -wash- 
ings. At the back of the hill along a clear stream 
lay the huts of his laborers who had settled there 
with their wives and children. He had brought 
them from the Indian village near by, after having 
chosen them as the best and most reliable men. 
At first they had gone unwillingly, but now a 
friendly relation seemed established. Near the 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 119 

village was a large enclosure in which the cattle 
grazed. These were his greatest care, for they 
became more and more wild, and betrayed a desire 
to wander over the wide plains of Vega-real. In 
spite of all teaching, the Indians did not under- 
stand how to manage them. The swine were far 
less trouble to him. 

However, the liaciendero was satisfied with his 
efforts, and now toward sunset he sat down to 
rest, while he drank a glass of lemonade and — 
smoked a cigar. Yes, a cigar. Living on his se- 
cluded farm, among the Indians, he had taken up 
the habit of smoking, and passed many leisure 
hours gazing after the clouds of smoke, parted by 
the breeze. 

A well-knoAvn sound which he had not heard 
for many a day roused him from his reveries: 
was not that the tramp of horses' hoofs? 

He looked up. Yes, the figures of two riders 
api^eared above the tall grass of the savannas, and 
they were coming from the gold mines. 

Who could it be? Who had time there to leave 
the gold- washing and visit him in his loneli- 
ness? 

The riders came nearer; he recognized the one 
in advance, and a look of x^leasure lit \\\) his face. 
"Welcome, Ojeda!" he cried, at the top of his 



120 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMEKICA. 

voice, but liis face soon darkened, for in the otlier 
rider he recognized Castaneda. 

" An unusual visit ! " he said, as the riders dis- 
mounted, and hitched the horses to the posts of 
the veranda. " What brings you to me, Ojeda? " 

Ojeda stood still, and looked around the jilace. 
" You are indeed finely fixed, Marchena," said he, 
^' you even have flowers climbing over the veranda. 
And these smooth x^aths, this fine vegetable gar- 
den, and there the broad potato and bean fields. 
Friend, you could keep a regiment with this farm ; 
it Avas wrong in you to settle so far from oui' 
fort. But, joking aside! we are really hungry, 
and from this farm refreshments beckon to the 
rider! " 

" How can I serve you ? " asked Marchena, 
smiling. 

" How can he serve us ! " cried Ojeda. " This 
proud expression! Friend, we live upon pota- 
toes, potatoes, nothing but potatoes. They send 
us less and less from Isabella. The admiral has 
gone on further explorations, and his dear brother 
Diego plays the niggard more than ever. We 
are hungry and would even be content with Indian 
bread." 

"What, Indian bread! " interrupted Castaneda, 
"you must not be so modest, Ojeda; he can give 



AVITH COLUMBUS IX AMERICA. 121 

US more. Is lie not the owner of herds? Can he 
not kill a calf?" 

'* That I must not do," replied Marchena; " you 
know, Castaneda, the admiral forbade it. These 
cattle are for breeding purj^oses, the nucleus of 
the future herds of cattle of Hisj)aniola. But wait 
a little ; I will order my cook to roast a duck." 

''Roast duck!" cried Ojeda, "wdiat a bill of 
fare!" 

" And if you will stay until to-morrow, in honor 
of the day we will have a roast pig." 

" The man lives like a prince," said Ojeda, " he 
probably has butter and milk also." 

" And he drinks tobacco smoke like an Indian," 
rei^lied the other; "keeps cooks who know how 
to roast ducks. This is in truth an excellent dis- 
covery, worth a gold mine for Hispaniola. We 
must come here often to satisfy our hunger. Only 
we must say nothing about this in Cibao, or the 
regiment would come and eat the liacienda out. 
You know that they already have planned to send 
a cattle requisition here.'^ 

Meanwhile Marchena reappeared. On a Avooden 
plate he brought a kind of flat cake, and offered 
it to his guests as a luncheon." 

"What is that?" asked Ojeda, "it tastes ex- 
cellent." 



122 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

" It is cassava bread," replied Marcliena. '' My 
chief article of food after the potato. Would you 
like to see the x^lant from which it comes? " 

He led his guests through the vegetable garden 
to a hedge of bushes about six feet high, and with 
hand-shaped leaves. 

One of these was half pulled from the earth. 
Marchena cut oif a bit of the root with his knife, 
and said to his guests : " See Avhat a quantity of 
milky sa]3 this root contains. Do not taste it— it 
is sharp and poisonous. But in the root there is 
a kind of flour. It must be powdered, washed 
often and pressed, then dried by the fire; and 
from this comes a fine fiour of which we bake such 
bread as this." 

" Magnificent ! " cried Castaneda. 

" Yes, this New World offers us more than we 
think," cried Marchena, enthusiastically. " What 
timber I have seen in the forests ! I must some- 
time beg Don Diego to send me over a joiner." 

"What are you thinking of!" replied Ojeda. 
"You live here like a hermit in the desert, and do 
not know what goes on out in the world. In the 
colonies we have no time to think of such things. 
There are rumors of trouble with the Indians; 
they would like to make a second Navidad of 
Isabella; in the gold districts it has already 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 123 

come to skirmishes — a Spaniard has fallen. We 
must take the lead of these savages ! " 

"What, you wish to make war?" asked Mar- 
chena, painfully moved. 

" The band becomes rebellious," replied Ojeda, 
defiantly. "Before all, the dog Caonabo, who 
has as yet received no punishment for the massa- 
cre of Navidad. Tell me, does not a j)ath lead over 
the black mountains behind this farm to Caonabo, 
and a path over which one can easily ride? " 

"A xmtli certainly does lead there," replied 
Marchena, " but at the top of the mountain it is 
so steep that riding would he impossible there." 

"My horse is sure-footed," said Ojeda confi- 
dently; " can you show me the way? " 

" Certainly," replied Marchena ; " you can see it 
on my map, and to-morrow I will take you there. 
But I tell you the path is at most fit only for 
Harras, the bold leaper." 

" Maj)? " asked Castaneda; " do you draw maps 
here?" 

" Yes, I note the paths, so that I shall not lose 
my way in my wanderings through the woods." 

"You probably are looking for gold, then?" 
asked Castaneda ironically. 

Marchena started, but then he answered calmly: 
" No, that is not the object of my walks. I seek 



124 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

roots and fragrant woods ; for if this is the border 
of India, then cloves, cinnamon, nutmegs, and 
sandalwood must grow here, and these w^ould be 
as valuable as gold to Spain." 

" I should like to see the map," said Ojeda, 
" but it has grown dark, and you are probably 
saving of light," he continued jokingly. " Tell 
me, have you a candle left? They are all gone at 
Margarite's fort." 

"I have a lamp which costs nothing," was 
Marchena's answ^er. 

"How so? Is this another miracle? " 

"Look out at the savannas," answ^ered Mar- 
chena; "do you not see the many million sparks 
which shine among the grasses ? They are fireflies. 
Catch them and they will illuminate the night 
for you." 

"An original idea," said Ojeda; "you are an 
artist in a thousand." 

"You are mistaken; I only learn from the sav- 
ages. The idea originated with them of catching 
a dozen of these insects, putting them in a per- 
forated gourd, and thus manufacturing a night 
lamp," rej)lied Marchena. 

The three Spaniards returned to the house; 
they seated themselves upon the veranda, and 
Marchena brought the gourd lamp and his map. 




THE LIGHT OF THE ITAU'KIN LAMP. 



WITH COLUMBUS IX AMERICA. 125 

In fact, by holding the map close to the lanq), by 
the greenish light of these fireflies the details of 
the mai^ coiUd easily be distinguished. 

''I recognize the landscape," said Ojeda; "here 
is the mountain range which separates us from 
Caonabo; so, here are woods, here are brooks, 
and what does this little cross mean here? " 

"That," replied Marchena slowly, as though he 
Avished first to consider, " that is a spot where I 
rested upon a rock; from there one has a fine 
view of a valley. It is a sign of mine — nothing 
of importance." 

Castaneda listened. The tone of voice seemed 
peculiar to him. "Nothing of inq^ortance," he 
thought to himself. " Does one make crosses uj^jon 
a maj) if no imj^ortance attaches to the spot? " 

He took the card from Ojeda's hand and wished 
to notice more closely the spot marked with the 
cross. But at this moment, as if accidentally, 
Marchena hit the gourd lamp, so that it fell from 
the primitive table on the edge of the veranda, 
and the fireflies lay scattered on the ground. 

" Do not spoil your eyes, Castaneda," said Mar- 
chena hereupon, while he took the map and put 
it in his i)ocket. " I will show you the way early 
to-morrow. Then all Avill be much clearer. The 
map might only confuse you." 



126 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

The evening was spent in eating the roast duck, 
which was very tough, but tasted delicious to the 
starving gold- seekers, and the guests told of their 
experiences and the prevailing mood in Isabella 
and the fort. 

" It is really shameful in the Genoese to demand 
the third part of the winnings," said Ojeda. 
"Even the church claims but a tenth, and the 
king contents himself with an eleventh share." 

"Yes, the king is rich," sneered Castaneda, 
"but the vice-king Avishes to be rich. But his 
greed will avail him nothing. Margarite has not 
the eyes of Argus. He x)uts aside what he can, 
himself, and so do many others ; and when they 
have enough, then — well, they will find con^pan- 
ions who also wish to return to Spain without 
further delay. And will that be so hard for them? 
They will simply mutiny, take i^ossession of a 
ship, and set sail." 

" That would be contemptible," cried Marchena 
furiously. " It would be black ingratitude to the 
man who brought us to this magnificent land." 

" Calm yourself," replied Castaneda, ironically. 
" In Isabella, where fever rages and sickness carries 
off men, they do not call the land so magnificent. 
Calm yourself, or, if you will, go to Cibao and 
Isabella and there preach fidelity and obedience 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 



127 



to the admiral and vice-king; for I put nothing 
aside, and have no idea of being so contemptible, 
even in dealing with a foreigner." 

'' Friends, why are you quarrelling there? " said 
Ojeda. "It is getting late, and to-morrow we 
wish to explore the country. Let us go to sleep ! " 




X. 



The next morning Ojeda and Marchena swung 
themselves in their saddles, and rode uj^ the 
mountain. Marchena rode Castaneda's horse. 
No horse had been placed at the liac lender o's dis- 
posal. Only part of the soldiers were mounted. 

Castaneda remained at the farm. He had 
looked after the riders for some time, then he 
went into the house. He was alone: the Indian 
servant who had wished to keep him company he 
had immediately sent away; then he Avalked 
through the two rooms which formed Marchena's 
house, and insx)ected the furniture. 

A primitive cupboard stood in the first room. 
Impelled by curiosity Castaneda opened it. There 
wjBre even drawers in it. What need had this 
Marchena of joiners from Isabella? He was an 
excellent carpenter. 

In this cupboard all sorts of things Avere stored : 
roots, leaves, dried fruits. " An apothecary," said 
Castaneda scornfully, and walked on. 



AviTii COLUMBUS IN amp:kica. 129 

In Marcliena's bedroom lie found sometliing 
which enchained his attention much more. It 
was a wooden trunk, with a lock, one of those in 
Avhich the lirst emigrants brought their trifles of 
private property from Spain. This trunk had a 
lock and was locked! This did not vex Casta- 
neda. On the contrary it filled him with joy. 
There was certainly something in this trunk which 
every one was not to see, and such secrets had 
always had a j)eculiar charm for Castaneda, and 
at this moment, too, he felt esj)ecially attracted to 
that old Sx^anish trunk. 

There were no j^anes of glass in the window^s of 
the room. They w^ere only brought much, much 
later to America. The windows were closed with 
massive shutters, the room w^as almost dark, as 
the light only penetrated through the lialf-ox:)en 
door of the next room. This twilight pleased 
Castaneda, for he seated himself beside the wooden 
trunk and smiled with satisfaction. 

But after a while he rose and went into the 
next room. He bolted the door leading outdoors, 
and looked out of the window. Not a soul was in 
sight about the house. Several Indians were at 
work in the fields at some distance, and the man 
who acted as Marchena's body- servant Avas just 
then sauntering toward the Indian village. 
9 



130 AVITII COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

Castaneda nodded contentedly, and returned to 
tlie bedroom. 

He sank down npon tlie floor before the trunk 
and fairly embraced it, as though it were a dear 
living being. Then he bent forward and inspected 
the keyhole. He smiled pleasantly and drew 
from under the folds of his mantle a leather 
purse. 

This purse Castaneda had filled while in Spain, 
not with gold, but with a metal far more valuable 
in Hispaniola— with iron. 

He ox)ened the purse and a number of various 
sized keys could be seen — an assortment of keys 
with which one could open a number of locks, 
especially here on the Antilles; for the Spanish 
emigrants had only brought simple locks with 
them. Castaneda had noticed that in Spain. 

He now glanced at the keyhole once more, and 
then selected one of the keys ; he tried it in the 
keyhole. How strange ! it fitted. Hoav easily he 
unlocked the trunk! He was a fine artist, this 
Castaneda. 

Carefully he now raised the lid and glanced at 
Marchena's belongings. A mantle lay spread out 
on top ; Castaneda inspected it carefully, each fold 
and button. Then he slowly raised it, removed it 
from the trunk, and placed it on the floor, folded 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 131 

just as it had lain in the trunk. Now he inspected 
the lower part. Here was no more such order. 
Different things, a i^air of shoes, a pair of stock- 
ings, a woollen shirt, and such articles lay jpiled 
on top of each other in. wild confusion. But 
Castaneda even wished to make this confusion 
yet greater. His long, thin fingers rummaged in 
the dex)ths of the trunk. 

And see ! After a few minutes his face betok- 
ened great excitement. Once more his fingers felt 
carefully over the things, and then a devilish ex- 
pression of joy came over the yellow face of the 
Castilian. " I have found it! " his eyes said. 

After one more moment of careful search, he 
drew a leather X3nrse like his from the bottom, 
and opened it carefully. He looked in. 

NoAv his expression changed. His face depicted 
great astonishment. 

Gold ! It was genuine gold that he held in his 
hands. But it was no such gold as they washed 
out of the sands of the rivers in Cibao ; these 
were nuggets, lumps as thick as his lingers. This 
was mountain gold. This Marchena had discov- 
ered gold mines, and, from all appearances, im- 
mensely rich gold mines. 

Castaneda trembled with exciteinent. He laid 
the iDurse down ux^on the floor beside the mantle; 



132 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

and continued liis search in the trunk. He found 
nothing more; but was not that which hiy before 
him enough? 

With trembling hands he laid the purse in its 
old place, spread the mantle over all, locked the 
trunk, and went out of doors. 

" Just look at this doll ! " he thought to him- 
self. " The fellow is much shar]3er than we think. 
He has a fine scent. But he finds gold mines and 
keeps quiet about them. To be sure, who knows 
Avhat secret agreement Father Juan de Marchena 
has made with Columbus? Who knows Avhat re- 
ward this little Jacob will receive from the ad- 
miral? He says nothing to us about it. So the 
boy wishes to save the mines for the Genoese. 
When he comes back to Isabella, Marchena will 
tell him the secret, and will then open the mines 
with the Indians as laborers. But I will find out 
this secret. 

" But where the devil can this place be ! This 
Marchena goes all over the mountains. One could 
follow him for a long time. But, halt! I know. 
He has betrayed himself. The cross — the cross 
on the map, that is the site of the mines ! I must 
have the map ! - ' 

He seated himself upon the veranda and pon- 
dered for a long time. Then he seemed to be 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 183 

satisfied witli liis x)l^ns, and walked over to tlie 
Indian village. Only wlien the two riders re- 
turned, toward lioon, did lie return to the house. 

He did not once ask for the map, and he scarcely 
inquired the result of the expedition ; he was the 
old Castaneda, and did not refrain from bantering 
Marchena in his usual way, but his mocking re- 
ferred only to his farming and digging for roots. 
He did not speajv a word of gold discoveries. 

Toward evening the two riders dej^arted. 

" You live here as luxuriously as a prince," said 
Castaneda as they departed. " How often I shall 
think of your flesh-pots when my stomach cries 
out for food. Pah! There is certainly a great 
difference between being a farmer and a gold- 
washer! " 

" Yes, there should be a great many more plant- 
ers," replied Marchena. "Vega-real has room 
for thousands." 

"Do you think so?" said Castaneda, swinging 
himself into the saddle. " I will consider your 
proposition." 

" Good-by, Ojeda," said Marchena, in farewell 
to the brave knight. " God jirotect you ! It is a 
neck-breaking undertaking which you plan to 
carry out." 

" As you will," rei:)lied Ojeda. " But tell me, 



134 AVITII COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

did not the admiral risk liis life when he crossed 
the ocean for the first time? I know wdiat I am 
about. I will secure peace and order by one 
stroke. But Ave have no time. Thank you for 
your hosx)itality, Marchena. Forward, Casta- 
neda." 

He sxDurred his horse, and Avith the Spanish cry, 
" Santiago ! " he rushed through the savannas. 

" Santiago ! " murmured Marchena. '' Yes, may 
St. James, the jDatron saint of the Spaniards, pro- 
tect you! " 

He stood lost in thought. To-morrow, on the 
other side of that mountain important events 
were to occur. Perhaps a general war would be 
the result. But for the present peace was secured 
to the farm. Ojeda had himself declared the 
path impassable. In s^jite of all, it was sad new^s 
that Marchena had received. " Why do they op- 
press the poor i^eople?" he thought to himself. 
" How pleasantly and peacefully one can live 
here, rejoicing over the sprouting seed. But this 
greed of gold ruins everything. How happy for 
the land if her rocks and rivers did not conceal 
the curse-laden gold. No, no gold mine shall be 
opened in my land until the mild admiral comes." 

Days passed. In the evening Marchena sat be- 
fore his house and gazed out upon the savannas. 



WITH COLUMBITft IK AMERICA. 135 

From time to time lie listened intently, but no 
sound of horses' lioofs broke tlie stillness. Now 
the mocking-bird began to sing, ;ind what a won- 
derful song it was ! The nightingale's notes are 
perhaps more deeply thrilling and go more to the 
heart, but the mocking-bird is the king of all 
singers. He can imitate the notes of all birds, 
and mocks at them all by forming from their dis- 
connected notes a harmonious masterpiece. But 
in those days it did not attract Marchena's atten- 
tion. His thoughts were with his friend Ojeda. 
What had become of him ? Marchena could not 
overcome his anxiety. Accompanied by two 
Indians, he set out for Cibao. 

Yes, it had been a dangerous venture which 
young Alonso de Ojeda had risked, a mad act of 
daring, such as only the bold conquerors of the 
New World could think of. And it had suc- 
ceeded. In Cibao, Marchena learned all that had 
happened. 

What the Indians had planned was a general 
massacre of the Christians, and at the head of the 
conspirators stood the chief Caonabo. Alonso de 
Ojeda had known how to set. aside this dangerous 
enemy. With a handful of daring comx)anions 
he sought the chief. He said he c^me as a friend 
and wished to honor him. He also brought him 



136 WITH COLTTMBUS IN AMERICA. 

visible signs of this distinction — glittering hand- 
cuffs upon which were fastened little bells in 
which the Indians took especial delight. The 
chief, in this manner already half captured — for 
he at once fell into the trap, and put on these 
bright new bracelets— must then seat liimself upon 
Ojeda's horse, so as to appear, thus adorned with 
the new insignia of a high rank, in the midst of 
his people. But instead of riding into the village, 
as agreed upon, Ojeda, mounted behind the chief, 
si3urred his horse on to the coast. The Indians 
were so alarmed by the Spanish knight's bold 
behavior, and the horse, a perfectly strange animal 
to them, that they thought too late of liberating 
their lord. Ojeda arrived safely, although ex- 
hausted and half starved, in Isabella, where he 
lodged the chief in the fort. He never saw his 
home again. The leader of the Indians in their 
fight against the white oppressors, died on the 
voyage to Spain, where Columbus was taking him. 
Ojeda had not yet returned from Isabella when 
Marchena arrived in Cibao. Meanwhile Margarite 
led a wild life with his band. Now that they 
knew the chief to be in Isabella, detained as a 
hostage, they oppressed the timid natives even 
more. Marchena left Fort Margarite with a heavy 
heart, for before the fort he had seen a verita- 



AN ITJ[ COLIIMBrs IN AMEUICA. Ull 

ble slave lujirket. Spaninrds bargained witli eacli 
other for tlie wives and cliildren of the Indians. 
But what most pained him was the fact that 
several of the slaves Avere reserved for Columbus, 
who wished to send them back to Spain ahd sell 
them there to obtain money for tlie equipment of 
new ships. So Marchena returned sadly to his 
home. The news of the recent events had mean- 
while reached even his Indians, for they met him 
more shyly and reservedly than formerly; sev- 
eral had even left their huts and fled to the woods 

But INIarchena did not rest until he liad won 
back the confidence of liis people ; and so better 
days seemed to have dawned for Yega-real, when 
one day Ojeda and Castaneda visited him, and the 
latter declared that he was now weary of the wiLd 
life at the fort; he wished to become a planter 
like Marchena ; he had himself spoken Avith Co- 
lumbus before the latter's departure, and would 
very shortlj^ settle in Yega-real as his neiglil)or. 

At this Marchena started; it seemed to him 
that he saw all his difhcultly achieved work totter 
and fall in ruins. And the news of the admiral's 
dei^artnre seemed a second misfortune to him. 

''What? Has Columbus gone already?'' he 
asked in surprise. 

" Well, he did not ask your permission, then," 



188 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

rexilied Castaneda, mockingly. '' He was in great 
haste ; he must relieve our colonies, and he takes 
two hundred miserable, sick men back to Spain 
with him. These will certainly give an edifying 
account of this magnificent land." 

But Marchena stood there with an anxious ex- 
pression. He had wdshed to speak wdth the ad- 
miral, to communicate some joyful news to him. 
But he had suddenly sailed away. When would 
he return? Yes, would he ever return? 

But from under Castaneda's bushy brows a 
piercing glance fell upon him. He revelled in 
Marchena's sadness, for he believed that he w^as 
sure of its cause. 




XI. 



Only a ten-minutes walk from the govern- 
mental liacienda arose a new house a few weeks 
later, and this was occupied by Castaneda. Until 
then, Marchena's had simx)ly been called The 
liacienda, as there w^ere no other plantations in 
Vega-real. Xow a particular name became neces- 
sary. 

Margarite troubled himself but little about the 
admirars orders and regulations ; the plantations 
lay within the territory of the fort ; he was the 
commander of the fort ; and in his opinion the 
governor of Yega-real also. The planters, there- 
fore, as well as the soldiers and miners, must obey 
him. . 

With this object in view, he made strange 
rules. The planters must deliver a certain propor- 
tion of their crox3s to feed the soldiers. He im- 
posed these taxes upon them, and he also found 
names for the two nev/ estates. Owing to Mar- 
chena's fidelity to the admiral, he called his 



140 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

hacienda Liguria, and Castaneda's new settle- 
ment King's Court. 

This was a malicious cliristening of tlie colonel's. 
The name of Ligurian was hated by most of the 
Spaniards, and so they looked askance even at 
the plantation of that name, while the name of 
King's Court awakened their sympathy. Marga- 
rite was not indeed the originator of this idea, an- 
other had suggested the name, and this other was 
Castaneda. He smiled with quiet satisfaction 
when he saw Marchena's troubled face ; for when 
this name was given his place, Marchena Avas cer- 
tain that his countrymen had no friendly feelings 
toward him. Castaneda knew what he was doing. 
The plantations should not flourish. Liguria 
should be ruined, and its founder come to have 
other objects in life than raising cattle and sowing 
seed. But King's Court was not so conducted 
that it would ever flourish. Castaneda troubled 
himself little about the farm. 

He laid out no experimental garden ; the natives 
should manage the fields in their own fashion, so 
as to pay the demanded tax to the fort. But in 
order that the Indians should be kejDt in order, 
Castaneda had brought strange overseers with 
him. 

At the time that the Spaniards came to the 



AVITII COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 141 

Antilles, there was great excitement among tlie 
Indian tribes. From the American mainland, a 
robber people overran the little islands; these 
were the wild Caribs, who were addicted to the 
horrible crime of cannibalism. Their war-ships 
were very narrow, but from thirteen to fourteen 
yards long, so that fifty seamen could find room 
in them. When favorable winds prevailed, the 
Caribs raised cotton sails; at other times they 
used oars to impel these boats, and these oars 
were handled in time with the leader's. • 

The aborigines of the Antilles, called by the 
Spaniards Farias, were peaceable people. The 
crime of cannibalism was unknown to them; they 
carried only spears as Aveapons in combat. And 
they lived less by hunting than from the scanty 
crops of their fields, and ui)on fish. 

The Caribs, on the contrary, carried bows and 
arrows, had always been upon the mainland, a 
race of hunters, and wilder and more barbarous 
in their habits. 

When, therefore, the Caribs invaded the little 
islands, they had no pity upon the timid, peace- 
able natives ; they were far superior to them in 
warfare — they killed the men, ate the children, 
and took the women captive. The fear of these 
cannibals was intense and universal. When Co- 



142 WITH COLUMBUS 1^ AMEEICA. 

lumbus discovered tlie New World, tlie Caribs 
were but i^artly settled upon Hispaiiiola. 

There were many Carib slaves in Isabella. Cas- 
taneda took tliem with him to his new estate. 
He made them overseers of the Indian laborers ; 
the Caribs formed his body-guard and also the 
oppressors of his Indians. The leader of this de- 
tachment of Caribs was Callinago, a cunning 
villain, who had ingratiated himself with his 
white master. 

^ He formed a true contrast to the colored over- 
seer of Liguria, the young Henry, as his master 
called him. Henry idolized Marchena. But his 
reasons for this were of a different nature. In 
the wild youth's heart, love awakened by Mar- 
chena's kindness had taken root. 

The difference in treatment of the Indians in 
Liguria and King's Court was striking. Here 
peace and order prevailed, there, there were blows, 
oppression ; here the laborers were faithful — there, 
there were always gaps in the ranks of Indians, 
owing to some Avho had run away. 

One day (it was quite late in the evening) Henry 
stood at the hedge of cassava, inspecting it to see 
from which bushes flour should be prepared, in 
the course of the next few days. He had just 
completed his work when twilight had already 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 143 

fallen, and now walked along the edge of the 
savanna to look after the cattle in the enclosure. 

There was a rustle in the grass. Was not that 
the light step of a human being? Henry stood 
still. Perliai3S it was one of his workmen. 

The tall grass parted, and a young Indian girl 
emerged, glancing timidly about. 

Henry started. 

"What are you doing here, Ara?" he asked, 
for he recognized in the girl one of the workwo- 
men recently brought from the mountains. 

" Save me! " she cried supplicatingly, and threw 
herself on her knees before him. 

"AVho threatens you?" he asked, glancing 
around the quiet savanna. 

"Callinago torments me!" she cried. "I hate 
him, and he wishes to kill me for this." 

Henry shook his head. 

" I cannot help you," he replied sadly. " You 
must flee to the mountains. Here they will find 
you and drag you away like the others. Come, 
let us sit down on the grass and wait until it is 
night. Then I will show you the way." 

" Where to ? " asked the girl, bitterly. " Do you 
not know that our village is burned down ? Oh, 
these Caribs whom the white man has brought 
here have x>illaged, burned, and murdered accord- 



14-i WITH COLUMBUS IN AMEEICA. 

ing to their custom. I no longer have a home ! 
You alone can save me," she cried, and clung 
tightly to the yonng man. 

''I!" said he slowly, with a bitter laugh. 
"What can I do against Callinago and Casta- 
neda? But wait!" cried he suddenly, while his 
face brightened. " He— he can; come to him! " 

Henry seized the girl's hand and walked slowly 
wdth her to Marchena's house. 

The moon had just risen; she threw^ her silvery 
light over the broad savannas, bathed in mist, 
and resembling a sea, brought out the dark out- 
lines of the mountains more distinctly, and shone 
on the backs of the two children of the wilder- 
ness, as wdth beating hearts they approached the 
veranda. 

• Upon it sat Marchena, absorbed in thought. 
He w^as alone to-day ; Gastaneda had not visited 
him— he had gone to the fort. Marchena w^as 
struggling with a difficult resolve. The neighbor- 
hood of the Caribs and this gold-seeker apparently 
converted to farming, Avas obnoxious to him ; it 
demoralized his people and threatened to destroy 
all the fruits of his hard work. Marchena had 
found a beautiful, fertile valley on the other side 
of a loAV mountain range. It Avas rather inacces- 
sible, but there one could live in all seclusion 



WFTH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 145 

from evil men, quietly and peaceably as in Para- 
dise. 

What if lie were now to declare that this sa- 
vanna land was not fertile enough — he wished to 
leave it? How would it be if he were to tear 
down his huts and leave Vega-real ? He must then 
certainly begin anew, but there in that secluded 
valley surely no one would follow him except his 
faithful laborers. , The more he considered it, the 
better the plan seemed to him. 

But could he be so certain that no one would 
follow him ? His neighbor Castaneda had followed 
him, who surely had no liking or taste for a 
planter's life, and yet he settled in this corner of 
Vega-real. Marchena rested his head in his hand. 
He had thought of this so often. Could Castaneda 
have guessed his secret? They had once spoken 
of the cross on the maj). But no one had said a 
word of gold mines. 

The secret had been well preserved in his trunk. 
Castaneda, at the time he and Ojeda visited Mar- 
chena, ha'd certainly been alone in the house for 
hours, but the trunk was safely locked, and Mar- 
chena had found everything in order when, after 
returning from his ride with Alonso, he again in- 
spected his home. 

And later! Yes, it was not to be denied that 

lO 



146 \YITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

Castaneda visited his neighbor unceremoniously, 
and rummaged the rooms in his absence ; but the 
cross was no longer on its old place on the map, 
and the gold specimens no longer rested in the 
Castilian chest. They were hidden in the cavity 
of a tree trunk, deep in the forest, until those 
should come for wiiom they were destined. 

Yes, although having no just cause of suspicion, 
yet he did suspect Marchena; he believed that 
he had discovered gold mines, and joerhaps now 
secretly profited by them. This was not surpris- 
ing ; such thoughts and suspicions w^ere very prev- 
alent among the first Spanish settlers. 

Marchena rightly suspected that Castaneda 
was here merely for purposes of observation ; he 
watched his every step and action ; often during 
his wanderings in the mountains, the form of 
Castaneda or that of his familiar, the Carib Cal- 
linago, would unexpectedly appear. The meet- 
ings were always accidental, as these said, but 
Marchena thought differently. 

Would Castaneda now give up his investiga- 
tions if Marchena changed his residence, or would 
he not rather, follow him like a shadow? The 
gold mines might be more secure, but the king's 
bailiff would hardly obtain the rest and peace for 
which he longed. 



AVITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. K7 

He was absorbed in these tlioiiglits when he 
raised his eyes and saw Henry and Ara advancing 
in the moonlight to the house. He could not rec- 
ognize the girl, and even when the two stood close 
before him he did not know who she was. 

Then the pair fell on their knees before him 
and raised their hands as if pleading for mercy. 

"Henry, what does this mean?" he asked in 
surprise. "AVho is the girlt Where does she 
come from? She seems to be a stranger." 

" O master," replied the servant, " she has fled 
from Callinago, and begs you for safety and pro- 
tection." 

Marchina frowned. So it was one of Castaneda's 
slaves who hoped to find protection here in 
Liguria. Oh, Henry and this poor girl had over- 
estimated his power! Far better could one of his 
slaves seek protection from him in King's Court, 
for in dispute Margarite would far sooner decide 
in favor of King's Court than of Liguria. But 
Marchena would not brusquely dismiss the suppli- 
cants, and so he inquired why Ara had fled. 

It was a long, sad story. Overpowering, burn- 
ing, pillage, and the cruellest oppression. Oh, these 
colored beings had feelings like us. Marchena 
was touched, and he gazed thoughtfully at his 
servant Henry, who pleaded for the oppressed 



148 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

with all his heart. A joyous expression lit up his 
features until then so gloomy, and he said : " You 
plead earnestly for the strange slave, Henry. I 
know but one means by which she can be saved. 
Will you make her your wife? " 

The colored servant was silent. The pale moon- 
light did not show whether his face expressed 
joy or astonishment, but Ara threw herself vio- 
lently at Marchena's feet, and embraced his knees, 
stammering words of thanks. 

'^ If that is your will, Henry," said Marchena, 
" then take Ara to one of the huts, and tell her to 
remain hidden there until I call her. I will speak 
with her master to-morrow." 

The two went away. They were happy, and 
this happiness seemed as if fallen from Heaven ; 
but he who had bestowed it did not enter his bed- 
room happily. He did not yet know whether he 
could soften the heart of the King's Court slave- 
owner. He indeed hoped that he could buy poor 
Ara's freedom with solid gold. But he w^as pre- 
pared for a hard bargain, for Castaneda was natu- 
rally avaricious, and yet more so when he saw the 
glittering metal. 

The next morning Marchena prepared for his 
unpleasant visit to his neighbor. He had w^alked 
through his vegetable garden and reached the 



WITH COLUMBUS IX AMERK^A. l49 

cassava hedge, when the barking of a dog was 
heard. Marchena knew^ this sound ; thus did the 
Spanish bloodhounds bay when they were on a 
chase. 

The young farmer stood still. His face grew 
grave. 

" I need not go to him," he whispered to him^ 
self, " this Bezeriilo is an excellent hunter. Cas- 
taneda will soon be here.'' 

He gazed out across the savanna from whence 
the baying of a dog came. From the tall flowery 
grass appeared men's heads from time to time; 
from the straw hat he recognized Castaneda at 
once, before him rushed Callinago, and behind 
followed two other Caribs wdth bow^s and arrows. 
Castaneda discovered his neighbor at the same 
moment. He gave up the hunt and gave the dog 
in charge of one of the Caribs. He himself w^ent 
up to the hedge beside which Marchena stood. 

"Good-morning, Castaneda!" cried he. "At 
work so early? " 

"Ha!" rei^iied Castaneda. "A savage has es- 
caped, a doe Avho has won my Callinago's heart. 
T have but recently come from the fort with the 
dog." 

" And what is the news there? " asked Marchena, 
as though this slave-hunt did not interest him. 



150 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

" What is the news ? " replied Castaneda. 
"Nothing x>l^^sant, my dear neighbor. This 
Cibao is far from beiag the Ophir of King Solo- 
mon. The gold is only on the snrface. The 
washings yield less and less gold sand ; one finds 
no more nuggets. There are a thousand Indians 
at w^ork, and yet the winnings aie not a fourth of 
what they were." 

"Well, and is the fort to be removed soon?" 
asked Marchena, with great interest. 

"IN'ot at all," replied Castaneda. "Margarite 
will set more Indians to work. Since Caonabo 
was taken captive, they are very docile. Marga- 
rite says he will not go until he takes the last 
grain of gold in Cibao away with him." 

He gazed out over the savanna. " But this Ara 
seems to have ruii around in circles as if mad. 
What circuits the dog makes ! But, halt ! Now 
they are coming directly toward us ! " 

"Ara — did you say?" hereupon replied Mar- 
chena. " Are you looking for this slave, Casta- 
neda? Then you can give up your hunt. I was 
on my way to you to speak about this matter. 
She is, so to say, wildly in love. It is the story of 
an elopement from King's Court to Liguria, and 
which we must kindly smooth over." 

Castaneda glanced closely at Marchena. 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 151 

"Oh! " said he, "yon know where she is?" 

"Yes," replied Marchena, "in my village. I 
wished to speak w ith yon abont this very matter." 

At this moment the bloodhound Bezerillo 
sprang out of the grass, ran along the edge of the 
savanna to the spot where the two neighbors 
stood, and remained standing there, confused by 
many traces. 

" Bravo, Bezerillo! " cried Castaneda, " you have 
again done well. But in Liguria they do not 
hunt Indians. So be very polite, Bezerillo. Do 
not touch Miss Ara!" He laughed at his joke. 
Then he turned to the Caribs who also came gasp- 
ing for breath from the long grass. " Go home, 
Callinago," he commanded. "I have found Ara; 
she is here with my friend; and take the dog with 
you." 

Callinago remained motionless. 

" Look at the cannibal," said Castaneda de- 
risively, "' he will not go without the slave. Go ! " 
said he again, " she is here. Have you become 
deaf? " Castaneda swung his stick and the Carib 
now took the dog by the collar, and, glancing 
furiously around, walked off toward King's Court. 

"Now, Marchena," said Castaneda, "we are 
alone. I am anxious to hear the romance which 
has been enacted in Liguria." 



152 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

Maicliena took Castaneda's arm in a friendly 
manner, and led him to his house. While they 
walked through the vegetable garden, he told him 
how Henry and Ara had knelt before him in the 
moonlight. He sought to represent the affair 
humorously, and not to offend Castaneda by hints 
at cruelty. 

Castaneda walked silently beside his neighbor. 
From time to time he looked at him closely. 

"You will give your consent, will you not?" 
asked Marchena. " You will do me the favor? " 

They already stood upon the veranda, and 
Castaneda's glance fell accidentally through the 
open window of the bedroom, upon the well- 
known locked chest. He silently seated himself 
upon the bench, and before his eyes rose the map 
which he was not to ruin his eyes by insi3ecting 
closely in the moonlight. Before his eyes shone 
the fat nuggets which he had been forced to j)ack 
and lock up again. 

He gazed out upon the savannas, and then his 
eyes wandered over to the black mountains; it 
seemed to him that now the favorable opportunity 
had come to raise the veil of secrecy somewhat. 
This Marchena had a soft heart, and perhaps 
Castaneda would succeed in melting this reserved 
and foolish youth like wax. 



AVITir COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 153 

" You do not answer, Castaneda," Marcliena re- 
peated. "Is it so hard for you to oblige me in 
this triding matter? " 

*'Is it for me to oblige you?" replied he. "In 
reality your Henry has carried his purpose, and 
my Callinago has his disaj)pointment. You will 
see happy faces around you, and my Carib over- 
seer will grumble. Remember, the fellow is a 
cannibal." 

'' Well, there can be found means for reconcil- 
ing him," interposed Marcliena. 

"Oh, certainly! " replied Castaneda, "you can 
soften him with a few old beads — but you must 
not forget that Ara is my slave." 

" Have you not slaves enough ? " asked Ara's 
protector. 

" You will not understand me," the other burst 
out. " You should know the state of affairs in 
Hisx)aniola. Since ancient times the men here 
have led a lazy life, and left the field work to the 
women. The men are of no account for sand-dig- 
ging and gold- washing, one woman works for ten. 
They know that in the mines. Unfortunately the 
women age very rapidly in this Avarm, moist land, 
and therefore young, strong workwomen are in 
great demand. Only think, such a healthy, strong 
girl as Ara represents a capital. She is skilful. 



154 WITH COLTTMBUS IX AMERICA. 

handy, active. Put her to work at gold- washing, 
and she will bring you a little heaj) of gold every 
day, for she has strong arms, quick lingers, and 
sharp eyes. Such workwomen are in demand in 
Cibao. I have si:)oken to Margarite. He has 
plenty of money and would be glad to have Ara. 
He would buy ten, twenty workwomen and pay 
well for them ! " 

Marchena gazed at the ground and a slight flush 
rose to his face, although he sought to control 
himself. " Thus speaks a Spaniard, thus acts a 
Christian,'' he thought to himself, but he dared 
not express his anger. With his views he was 
completely isolated here. 

" You see, my dear friend and neighbor," con- 
tinued Castaneda, " you must look at the matter 
from another side. You must not be vexed with 
me ; but I do not believe that you are acting from 
j)ure interest in your Henry alone. Let us be 
frank: you have a model establishment here, and 
your Henry is an excellent overseer, you lack on] 3^ 
a housekeeper. Now, Madam Ara would make 
an excellent housekeeper; so, my dear friend, you 
also would i^rofit by this marriage. AYe must 
treat this affair as a business dealing." 

Marchena bit his lij)s. He had never thought 
that he would bargain for a human being, but 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 155 

Castaneda spoke plainly, all the roiigliness and 
commonness of his character were plainly appar- 
ent. He overcame his inAvard disgust, therefore, 
and resolved to act. He would not buy Ara for 
a slave, he would rather buy an unfortunate slave 
her freedom; and was not that a good work? 

"If I understand you rightly," he therefore 
said, "you will sell Ara?" 

" Conditionally, yes ! " 

" And what do you ask for her? " 

" Hm ! " said Castaneda slowly. " I must govern 
myself by the piice in Cibao." 

" Good ! You know my house," said Marchena 
constrainedly. " You know what I possess. You 
know my coats and boots, and my Castilian uten- 
sils as well as I. So choose something and make 
me a proposal." 

"You are generous, Marchena," replied the 
slave-dealer, revelling in the uneasiness displayed 
by Marchena; "you offer the greatest treasures 
of Hlspaniola, which the Castilian surrenders only 
in utmost need, and which he would not sell even 
for glittering gold. You astonish me, but I do 
not wish people to say I have swindled you, not 
for such an Indian girl. Give her back to me; I 
will send Callinago to fetch her to-day." 

"What, Castaneda?" asked Marchena; "did 



156 AVITH OOLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

you not declare a few minutes ago that you intend 
selling Ara to Margarite? Is it not the same 
whether you sell her to me or to him? " 

"Pah!" cried Castaneda. "Indeed, it is not 
the same. You will pay me with coats and boots, 
which I cannot take back to Castile with me. 
xldmit that in the clothes which we have we can 
none of us appear at home! With Margarite 
matters are different. Margarite will shake some- 
thing into my hand which I can take back to 
Spain in a little bag, and for which I can receive 
shirts and boots in abundance. You understand 
me, from Margarite I will receive for Ara — gold ! " 

" Oh, if this is your only objection! " cried Mar- 
chena. Castaneda sprang up and clasped Mar- 
chena's hand. 

" Yes, friend," he cried, looking him directly in 
the eyes, " this only objection, but this is unalter- 
able. Ara or gold! or else Callinago shall fetch 
her back to King's Court— and this very day! " 

He pressed Marchena's hand tighter and asked, 
whispering in his ear, " Marchena, have you really 
gold?" 

Castaneda's words affected Marchena like the 
hiss of a venomous serpent. He tore himself 
away from his avaricious countryman. 

" Oh, you i3ress my hand too tightly, Castaneda," 



AVITII COLUMBUS IN AMEPwICA. 157 

he cried in excuse. Then he pushed his hair 
back from his foreliead, on Avhich stood pearly 
beads of sweat and asked, " How much do you 
require?" 

Castaneda drew back a stej) and laid his finger 
on his forehead. 

'' Let me consider," said he. 

He considered. How much should he ask? He 
must receive a large lumj) of gold so that Mar- 
chena should be forced to confess to him where 
he had found the rich gold mines. An idea oc- 
curred to him and he said; "I have just come 
from the gold washings. I have my scales with 
me, so we can at once come to an agreement." 

He drew a small purse filled with gold from his 
pocket. 

"Here!" he cried, "do you see? They pay 
this much in Cibao for a slave like Ara ! Weigh it 
in your hand; can you pay so much?" 

Marchena took the purse in his hand; it was 
light, and he therefore replied calmly: "I will 
see; I think so, Castaneda." 

The neighbor smiled Avith satisfaction. 

"Then fetch the gold!" he cried. "Here are 
the scales, " he continued, drawing a small pair 
of scales from his pocket. " We will weigh the 
gold ; and if it is sufficient, then Ara is yours ! " 



158 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

Marchena went into his house. Castaneda 
looked curiously into tlie bedroom. Now Mar- 
chena must open the chest and fetch his treasures. 
The good-natured fellow had fallen into the trap, 
he must betray his secret. And such a secret ! Cas- 
taneda would willingly have captured a hundred, 
a thousand Indians and given them away for this. 

But moments passed and there was no sign of 
Marchena in the bedroom. 

"He does not wish to betray himself!" mur- 
mured Castaneda. " He is deliberating ; butw^ait, 
my bird, you will soon be tamed ! " 

Meanwhile Marchena returned, a leather purse 
in his hand. 

"Oho!" thought Castaneda. "He has hidden 
it in some other place." 

His eyes seemed fairly trying to pierce the 
purse, and he did not notice that Marchena 
watched him sharply. 

" Here is the gold," said he, handing him the 
purse, " it will surely suffice." 

With feverish haste, Castaneda stretched out 
his hand and seized the purse. His, fingers 
clutched it and closed tightly over it. But he 
had expected a different object. The contents 
were soft and yielding, and the Spaniard's face 
w^ore a surprised look. 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 159 

Marchena watched the avaricious man with 
disgust; he seemed to him like a bird of prey 
sweeping down ui3on his victim. 

Meanwhile Castaneda hastily opened the purse 
and looked in. His features exj)ressed a disap- 
pointment, boundless disappointment; he ran his 
iiugers into the gold as if he sought something 
therein. Then he hissed out an angry curse from 
between his teeth. There were no lumps of gold 
in the little purse; it contained merely gold-dust 
such as he had seen in the old washings. 

" It is indeed gold, Castaneda, real gold," said 
Marchena, now sharply. "Do you curse the 
metal for the sake of which you came to His- 
paniola?" 

Castaneda controlled himself. 

"Ha, ha!" he laughed. "The gold is good, 
Marchena. But you have overtrumped me. I 
did not think you were so rich. We scarcely 
ever saw you at the gold- washings in Cibao." 

" Well, I have been fortunate," replied Mar- 
chena. " I found a rich gold vein. However, you 
can ask Margarite whether I have not given up 
the third part. But how have I overtrumped 
you, neighbor? " 

" I did not wish to sell Ara to you," said Cas- 
taneda. " I lixed a price which I did not think 



160 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

you would be able to pay. But you are ricli, you 
are a true Croesus." 

"Weigh tlie dust," replied Marchena. ^'You 
will see tliat not much will remain to me." 

Castaneda Aveighed it, shook it into his purse 
and said: "Very well, Ara is yours. You area 
lucky fellow, Marchena." 

He went. Down in the savannas he paused. 
" A sly rascal, this youth," he murmured to him- 
self. " But he has not won the game. Liguria 
has now a mortal enemy, and this enemy is Cal- 
linago. Him I will set on your heels, Marchena, 
and we will see whether he does not discover 
your secret." 

He walked on and soon entered the neglected 
King's Court. 

" Where is Ara? " the Carib asked him. 

" Ara ! " replied Castaneda. " She is under my 
friend's protection, and is to marry Henry." 

The Carib sprang up as though stung by a 
scorpion. 

"There, pray calm yourself," said Castaneda, 
"you can soon have her again." He drew his 
purse from his pocket. "Do you see this gold? 
When you bring me double the quantity, Mar- 
chena must give Ara back to me. He has much 
gold ; gold must be in these mountains; Henry and 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 161 

Marcliena must know it. So if you are so fond 
of Ara, go in the mountains and look for gokl 
mines! Henry knows them; do you see, he can 
buy himself a wife, even if she is an Ara ? " 

Without further troubling himself about the 
Carib, he Avent into the house, and locked up his 
newly acquired gold with his old treasures. He 
surveyed the contents of his trunk, and murmured 
to himself: "How slowly it accumulates — Avhen 
that is melted, the pile will nqt be large. And this 
long, long journey for this ! Marcliena is a lucky 
fellow. Pah, he has found here not only gold 
mines, but also golden brooks! But he is as 
silent as the grave. Not the slightest allusion, 
and gold and map have disappeared from the 
chest. But he must have other hiding-places; for 
I have never seen the purse of gold-dust before. 

" Shame on you, Castaneda! " he went on. ^' In 
Spain no lock was too artful for you ; you found 
out the most secret compartments in the greatest 
palaces. And here you cannot even find out the 
Iiiding-X3laces of the miserable Jiacienda. To be 
sure," he went on, "he always disturbs me; I 
can, I dare, not leave the slightest trace of my in- 
vestigations, or he would be warned. And how 
many lumps of gold he must already have added 

to the first three! I might complain of him that 
II 



162 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

he has not given up the third part— but what 
good would that do me? The whole band would 
rush over here from Cibao — and share the booty. 
And why divide it? I am no friend of such do- 
ings. If I could but make a thorough search of 
the house, undisturbed — lind the map, and then 
go to the spot marked with the cross! Undis- 
turbed — root up everything — ransack. Hm — 
then, then I would soon attain my object. But 
then he must not be there — must — suddenly dis- 
appear in the mountains and ravines ! That would 
do; but Margarite would be suspicious, and, al- 
though he hates this doll, he loves gold fondly. 
He would surely search for the gold — therefore 
that will not do!" 

Castaneda rested his head on his hand. Before 
him lay a heap of glittering gold, and his eyes 
were fixed mechanically upon the yellow metal : 
his mind formed a thousand plans. But from 
time to time he murmured : " That will not do ! 
The affair is a difficult one; much more difiicult 
than I thought!" 

But while the master made his dark plans, his 
servant Callinago brooded in front of the house. 
His eyes gazed full of hatred in the direction of 
Liguria. Ara was now there — she was to be the 
wife of the hated Henry ; and was she not really 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 163 

his slave, had he not himself carried her off from 
her home? And now she belonged to another! 
The Carib did not long deliberate. He had made 
his resolve sooner than his master. A devilish 
smile played about his lips, and now he calmly 
rose, took bow and arrows, and soon disappeared 
in the gloomy woods. 

About the same time Marchena, accompanied 
by the radiant Henry, left his Jiacienda and went 
into the mountains. A long, difficult march was 
before him. He wished to visit the beautiful 
valley, and look about it for a building-site. Yes, 
he was even more filled with the idea of leaving 
Vega-real to-day than he had been yesterday, for 
he suspected what would now happen. 

One after another of Castaneda's oppressed 
slaves would now seek refuge in Liguria — and he 
could not purchase the freedom of a second. Be- 
sides, he had fanned the flame of Castaneda's 
avarice. He must avoid him. And if he should, 
nevertheless, follow him? Well, there would be 
no room in this valley for two Jiacienderos. 
Marchena would buy the whole valley, for the 
government in Hispaniola sold land remarkably 
cheap, and Castaneda had left him enough gold 
dust for that. There in the peaceful valley he 
would stay until Columbus returned to Hispaniola. 



164 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 



Then the admiral should open the rich gold mines 
for his and the king's benefit. The faithless gold- 
diggers of Cibao and Isabella should not squander 
the treasure. You ask why he did not tell his 
secret to the admiral's brother, the governor, Diego 
Colon. Oh, Marchena knew that he held the reins 
of government with but a weak hand. 




XII. 

Two weeks later, Marcliena prepared for tlie 
long walk to Isabella. Henry should keep house 
in his absence. Up to this time he had said 
nothing to Castaneda of his plans. He merely 
complained of the lack of farming utensils, and 
that those which he had were fast becoming use- 
less, and thought he should be obliged to go over 
to Isabella and ask help from the governor. 

Castaneda strengthened his neighbor eagerly 
in this resolution. But the journey was put oif 
from day to day. The first harvest of wheat was 
at hand, and Marchena wished to take the first 
harvest in Hispaniola, however scanty it might be, 
to Isabella. 

But it was to be otherwise. 

The king's bailiff had housed his first wheat. 
It was not threshed, for there were no flails in 
Liguria, but the Indians had picked the precious 
cereal, grain by grain, from the ear. Now three 



166 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

moderate-sized baskets stood ready for transpor- 
tation to Isabella. 

But meanwhile other men appeared to fetch the 
harvest. Early in the morning of a fine day 
there was a noise of horses' hoofs and the barking 
of dogs in the savanna, and the blare of the war 
trumpets penetrated even to Liguria. Marchena, 
astonished, hastened out upon his veranda. What 
guests were coming; with the sound of trum- 
pets, and mounted on horseback? Had the ad- 
miral returned? 

The troop of riders came nearer. Now they 
stopped before the vegetable garden, and in 
amazement Marchena recognized the leader; it 
was Margarite, the colonel. 

The king's bailiff suspected nothing good, for 
Margarite had never been cordially disposed to 
him and had never forgotten his harmless remark 
on the admiral's ship : Half in jest, half mockingly 
he was in the habit of calling him "the little 
mutineer." 

" Good-day, my dear bailiff," said he, returning 
Marchena's greeting. " We come in person to con- 
vince ourselves of the condition of the king's 
hacienda. We have received very few supplies. 
Mere Indian potatoes and manioca roots, which 
we must wash ourselves And we are hungry, 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 167 

for even Isabella furnishes no more meat, although 
it requires gold; we cannot eat snakes and liz- 
ards, and the forest birds are not easily obtained; 
therefore we thought of the Ligurian oxen, and 
would now like to see whether they have become 
fat; will you not take us to the corral, Marchena? " 

The king's bailiff must obey the colonel. Of 
what use would resistance have been? Margarite 
had brought soldiers with him, and their looks 
betokened plainly enough that they participated 
in this requisition with delight, and did not think 
of returning empty-handed. 

Meanwhile Castaneda also had hurried up. 

"Welcome, Margarite!" he cried, "you all 
come as if bidden to the harvest feast in Liguria! " 

" How so? " asked Margarite. 

" Men, have you lost your eyes in Cibao? Look 
yonder at that field along the edge of the forest. 
It is stubble ; Marchena has harvested wheat." 

Margarite smiled. "We have heard of that 
also," he replied, " and will give the wheat trans- 
port a safeguard. And if I am not mistaken, 
there stands a little vintage also. We have casks 
and kegs in abundance in Cibao; they are all 
empty and can easily be filled." 

"The wine is still sour, Margarite," replied 
Marchena. 



168 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

The colonel did not honor him with the slight- 
est response. He took Castaneda by the arm and 
said to him: "Take us to the viceroy's herds. 
What do you think? Sour wine is an aid to 
digestion, and goes very well wdth a nice fat 
roast, eh? " 

Marchena remained behind . He was not needed. 
Margarite had found a guide and such as he re- 
quired. 

Margarite purposely drew Castaneda away from 
his followers. He wished to speak with him 
alone, and what he had to say surprised Castaneda 
extremely. 

" We will drive off the cattle," said the colonel, 
" for we wish to strengthen ourselves for the long 
voyage." 

"AVhat, you wish to return to Spain?" asked 
Castaneda in astonishment. " Already? " 

" If w^e can secure a ship, we will sail immedi- 
ately. But we shall have to wait several, perhaps 
two or three, weeks. The other brother of the 
Ligurian, Bartholomew, has come from Spain, 
and wishes to govern more strictly. There has 
been trouble in Isabella, and Bartholomew is 
founding a nev/ city — St. Domingo it is to be 
called." 

" One really is completely isolated here," said 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 169 

Castaneda. "The most important events of the 
colony are unknown to me." 

" Shall you not come with us? " continued the 
colonel. 

'' So soon? " replied Castaneda. " I am afraid I 
shall not yet be able to ! " 

"Not yet!" cried Margarite, laughing. "Are 
you not already the wealthiest of the settlers? " 

" You jest, Margarite. 1 have heard that you 
possess the most gold, and Roldan not much 
less." 

"Well, as you will!" replied Margarite. "I 
have promised you that I will give you notice in 
time before our departure. Perhaps you will 
reconsider the matter. But you must join us in 
two weeks at the latest." 

" Thank you, Margarite," said Castaneda. " In- 
deed, there seems to be nothing more to get here." 

"Hm— and I had thought that you had dis- 
covered new gold mines here ! " 

" Merciful patience ! " cried Castaneda. " I have 
not found a grain of gold in this Yega-real. I 
have only sold one slave to Liguria. But I be- 
lieve that the king's bailiff will hardly be able to 
pay for a second." 

Margarite gave his companion a side glance. 

" That does not concern me, however," said he. 



170 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

" I have my sliare, and shall not remain here 
longer." 

They stood before the cattle enclosure, and sur- 
veyed the three cows and the steer. 

" Here is the nucleus of the future herds of His- 
paniola," said Castaneda, mockingly. 

" We will see to it that the liacienderd s trees 
do not have root in the skies," replied Margarite, 
and he commanded his soldiers to catch the 
animals. 

The soldiers returned to the house. They dis- 
persed over the yard, and sought to discover 
everything eatable. The ducks and the few hens 
were caught and killed; the swine, now number- 
ing twelve, were bound with cords ; several Indian 
women, Ara among them, were ordered to carry 
the wheat and all the potatoes on hand. 

Then Margarite waved his hat, and the soldiers 
started, carrying off with them the provisions, or 
as Marchena, with bleeding heart termed them, 
the spoils. Liguria only was plundered ; King's 
Court they had left in peace, but there, indeed, 
there was almost nothing to carry off. 

Castaneda watched the depressed Marchena 
with a sarcastic smile. 

"Neighbor," said he, "the time has not yet 
come here in Hispaniola for model farms. Each 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 171 

year one would celebrate such harvest homes 
here. You work for a rapacious people; you 
should do something else. Go over to Spain and 
complain to the king. But if you are listened to 
there, you must not appear with a basket of wheat, 
but with a sack of gold. Say, ' This I have collected 
alone — I have found gold mines.' Then they will 
honor you in Spain, and gii^e you a letter of pro- 
tection for Hispaniola." 

Marchena could think no more of his journey 
to Isabella. Famine threatened the plundered 
farm if the Tiaciendero did not exercise all his 
powers. All hands must now work, new potato 
fields must be laid out, and fresh flour was quickly 
prepared from the manio'ca root. 

Besides, Marchena and his overseer, Henry, now 
hunted more frequently. They laid snares for 
the birds and little animals of the forest to pro- 
vide meat for their subsistence. It was an ardu- 
ous hunt, the results always trifling, but it Avas 
unwearied, for the laborers must have some meat, 
and there was no other way of securing it. 

Marchena was still busy with this work when 
the news spread among the Indians that the 
Spaniards in Cibao were preparing for departure. 
Castaneda went there, and returned with the news 
that Margarite intended going to Isabella, and 



172 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 



from there sailing to Spain. " Father Boyle goes 
with them," he remarked ; " he says these savages 
will never be converted." 

Marchena was not saddened by this news. He 
hcTped that now his neighbor would depart also, 
but he was disappointed. Castaneda made no 
preparations for departure. He remained in 
Vega-real. 




XIII. 

It had not escaped Castaneda's notice that the 
Carib Callinago cherished in his breast an un- 
quenchable hatred for all in Liguria, but espe- 
cially the overseer Henry, Ara's hapjjy husband. 
He took an evil delight in this, and sought to feed 
this hatred by intentional mocking speeches. 
The arrows always hit the mark, and that afforded 
Castaneda new pleasure. 

He watched the doings at Liguria, as always, 
with attentive eyes, and it occurred to his notice 
that when the overseer Henry was in the forest 
hunting, his Carib, Callinago, also disappeared. 
He watched the savage more closely, without the 
latter noticing this, and found that whenever Cal- 
linago went into the forest, he carried with him a 
little bag hidden under the cloth around his liijDs. 

Castaneda was made very uneasy by this dis- 
covery. What Avas concealed in that little bag? 
why did the Carib hide it? Oh, Castaneda sus- 
pected what it was. 



174 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

Had he not himself told the Carib that gold 
would put him in possession of Ara? Had he 
not spurred him on to hunt for gold, and with 
this idea set him on the tracks of those Ligurian 
fellows? Well, this bloodhound, with his savage 
instincts, had found that for which Castaneda had 
so long, so continuously, and yet so unavailingly 
sought. 

Without doubt, the overseer Henry did not 
alone iiunt in the woods ; he also went to the mine 
and collected the noble metal to carry to his mas- 
ter. Callinago had certainly watched him from 
some hiding-xjlace, and now followed his traces 
to glean after him. The sly savage ! 

Castaneda even intended calling him to account 
once Avhen he returned from such an expedition, 
thought of forcibly taking the little bag from him, 
and compelling him to confess where he got the 
gold, but he decided against this plan. 

" No," said he, " this savage is obstinate. If he 
does not choose to tell anything, he will not. He 
would let himself be burned alive and not betray 
a word — he is a Carib, not delicate like these 
cowards here in Hispaniola. I must get the best 
of him by trickery." 

One moBuing Callinago stole away as usual with 
the mysterious bag. Castaneda feigned not to 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 175 

notice him, and went into the house. But in there 
he^lDlaced himself at a crack in the wall, between 
the logs, and watched the edge of the woods. 
Soon he perceived the Carib, and saw him disap- 
pear betAveen the trees. He fixed the spot firmly 
in his memory and then went outside. 

He w^histled for the dog. Bezerillo sprang up 
on him; he stroked his head and said: "Hey, 
Bezerillo, to-day you shall prove yourself; shall 
show your skill, quietly, without barking; you 
shall set out in pursuit, slowly, step by step." 
He took a cord from his pocket' and fastened it to 
the dog's collar. Then he j^laced a dagger in his 
belt, and thus equipped seated himself upon the 
veranda. • 

His heart beat stormily. The important, long- 
awaited, decisive hour approached. 

On a sandy place before the house a stick had 
been im]3lanted ; it formed an equivalent for a 
sun-dial, and Marchena had arranged it for his 
neighbor. Castaneda watched the shadows to 
measure the fleeting moments. All sorts of 
thoughts i)assed through his mind ; he saw before 
him piles of gold, lumx)s of gold, shining at him 
from crevices in the rocks. At length an hour 
had elapsed. Castaneda rose, crossed the savanna, 
leading the dog by the string, and entered the 
woods. 



176 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

It was a glaringly hot day, and the tropical forest 
offered no coolness and refreshment. A moist, 
vaporous atmosphere like that of a greenhouse 
prevailed here. It was no pleasure to walk 
through these woods — it was rather a hard, ex- 
haustive work — and the perspiration stood out 
on Castaneda's forehead, and his shirt clung to 
his body. 

The dog had soon found the Carib's scent, and 
Castaneda must now work his way through al- 
most impenetrable undergrowth ; often he rather 
crept than walked, the thorns tore the clothes 
from his body ; his hands bled, for he had to hold 
back the dog, who was constantly pulling him for- 
w^d, and could not, as his predecessor, Callinago, 
assuredly had done, avoid each thorny branch. 

The trace led u^ the mountain, and there was 
no end to the underbrush. From time to time 
Castaneda was forced to rest, until at length he 
drew a breath of relief ; he came to steep, rocky 
ground which at least was not so thickly covered 
with bushes, and from which one could have a 
certain view of the country. Bezerillo snuffed at 
the ground — he seemed not sure of the scent here, 
but walked from one rock to another until at 
length he paused before a large boAvlder higher 
than a man. 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMEKICA. 177 

Castanecla watched the dog attentively; the 
scent seemed to cease here; the dog snaffed about, 
but always returned to the same spot, then he 
wished to follow the old trail again. 

" Hush, Bezerillo, down, charge! " he said to the 
dog, and fastened him to a sapling. " We know 
what that means. The Carib climbed upon the 
rock. We must follow his exanii:)le ! " 

He examined the rock closely. He at once 
found tAvo projections upon which one could 
easily set foot. After a brief attempt he suc- 
ceeded in clim])ing upon it. 

He now stood ux3on a little i3lateau, whose edge 
was overgrown with thick bushes, behind which 
the mountains ascended at some distance. He 
was doubtless at the edge of a ravine. The 
Spaniard stooped ; it occurred to him that he Avas 
now exposed to the gaze of any curious observer. 

Slowly he crept up to the bushes, bent apart 
the twigs, and found his suspicion fully confirmed ; 
he really stood at the edge of a ravine or of a 
steep descent. 

At his feet Avas stretched out a small valley; in 
the background toward the black mountains, and 
from their summit, came, like a waving silver rib- 
bon, in a high Avaterfall, a mountain stream, only 
to vanish beloAV into depths as yet invisible. 



178 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

Castaneda could now plainly hear tlie rush of the 
water, which in the woods he had taken for the 
rustle of the wind-swayed treetops. 

Along the slopes of the valley here and there 
stretched green meadows, lovely oases in the 
dense forests. These were doubtless places where 
formerly the natives' villages had stood and their 
destroyed fields. But this valley must now be 
deserted, for nowhere was there visible smoke, 
nowhere a hut — solemn silence everywhere, only 
from time to time interrupted by the harsh cry 
of a bird of prey. 

But even in this silence, this valley was a charm- 
ing sight — these green woods rising like an amphi- 
theatre, interspersed with fresh green meadows ; 
beyond, the dark mass of the highest mountain 
peak, wrapped in light mist ; in the midst, the sil- 
very Avaterf all, and above, the laughing blue sky, 
scarcely shaded by a single cloud. Even upon 
Castaneda's rough nature this magically beauti- 
ful scene was not without effect, and he stood 
there astonished. 

But almost immediately a jo^^ful thought 
flashed to his mind. He remembered the evening 
when Ojeda had examined the maj) by the light 
of the fireflies, and had asked the meaning of the 
little cross. 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 179 

Yes, that was really a beautiful valley wliich 
lay before liim, and did lie not stand upon a 
rock from which he could overlook it? Oh, he 
had surely found that mysterious, secret spot 
which Marchena wished to keei3 from his knowl- 
edge. 

The avaricions Spaniard surveyed the rocks be- 
tween whicli the waterfall x^lunged. Sx)arks rose 
before his eyes, as though the true gold shone 
from the cracks and crevices of the gloomy stone. 
He knelt down and with greedy eyes gazed at the 
valley; his grasping nature revelled in the treas- 
ures whicli his imagination conjured up in this 
charming idyllic scene. 

Gradually he bethought himself that he had a 
different aim in this expedition. Doubtless the 
Carib had been here also, but naturally, although 
he had long known of this valley, he had told his 
master nothing of it. Castaneda now inspected 
sharply all the details of the scene; his eyes 
rested long on each green meadow, followed the 
lines of the ravine by the waterfall, but nowhere 
could he discover those he sought. Neither the 
Carib nor Henry were in sight. 

So Castaneda descended from his high post to 
his bloodhound. He got the dog uj:) on the rock 
with difficulty, and soon after he was again on the 



180 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

scent. The way was very difficult; he must pass 
steep precipices, yawning ravines at his left ; it was 
a neck-breaking way ! Why had the Carib chosen 
this particular way? Oh, Castaneda could under- 
stand him, could gaze into the savage's mind. 
Was it not in this moment filled with an ardent 
thirst for gold, and did not Castaneda stake every- 
thing u]3on satisfying this thirst, which was his 
also? 

He might have climbed for a quarter of an 
hour, when the bushes grew thicker again. He 
found himself again in the monotonous green wil- 
derness, nothing but leaves, twigs, and a few 
flowers everywhere the eye rested. There were 
no paths here. The tall foliage x)lants, ferns, and 
the thick bushes left no trace of a human foot- 
step. As the waves of the sea close behind the 
keel of a shij), did the evergreen plants close be- 
hind the step of the wanderer. No one, even with 
the sharpest eyes, could discover a trace, but the 
dog, guided by his sense of smell, followed the 
trail steadily, and grew more and more uneasy, 
pulled stronger on the cord, and his master had 
difficulty in quieting the animal, which occasion- 
ally uttered low growds. 

Bezerillo was now on a fresh scent. 

Castaneda stood still and listened, with a beat- 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 181 

ing heart. On the other side of the ravine a bird 
again gave its' sharj) cry — caAv, caw, caw! — then 
all was still. He let the cord loose and followed 
his leader again. Scarcely had he proceeded a 
few steps, however, when he stood still as if 
rooted to the ground, and the dog also gave sev- 
eral barks, but ceased at once ni^on the angry 
kick which the Spaniard gave him. 

The sound of a human voice came from the dis- 
tance through the green wilderness— it was a 
monotonous Indian song. The Carib did not sing 
thus, Castaneda knew it; the inspector Henry 
sang; he was nearby; the Carib had followed him. 

Now it was dangerous to trust the dog farther 
and blindly follow the scent. Castaneda feared 
that the dog would bay again, or that he would 
suddenly stand before the Carib or Henry. He 
therefore drew his dagger from his sheath and 
left the track. 

Following the song, he slowly Avalked through 
the forest, and made cuts in the tree-trunks with 
his dagger, so that he might find his way back. 
The song ceased. But Castaneda perceived that 
the woods grew lighter, the tall trees ceased; he 
now crept through low bushes and soon reached 
the edge of a ravine. He came to a projecting 
rock which was thickly overgrown. From below 



182 WITH COLUMBUS IN" AMEKICA. 

came tlie rushing of the mountain stream, before 
him at his feet was the broad valley ; but all this 
did not attract his attention. Castaneda was de- 
vouring the scene at his right. 

Here the mountain range made a wide bend, 
trended backw^ard, then forward again, ending in 
a green meadow. This meadow, surrounded by 
woods, lay directly opposite the projection upon 
which Castaneda stood, separated from this only 
by a ravine some thirty feet broad. 

Castaneda stretched himself Hat ui3on the 
ground, and crept like a snake to the edge of the 
precijiice. Through a small hole in the thick 
growth which wholly concealed him, he gazed over 
at the ox)posite meadow. 

There Inspector Henry was, indeed, engaged in 
setting bird snares. He had already caught sev- 
eral of the wild doves, for they lay piled up on 
the ground under a tree. He strewed some wild 
berries of which the birds were fond in the snares, 
and went back to the edge of the forest. The 
valley was exposed to the full glare of the noon- 
day heat, and so the bird-catcher had become 
weary, for he lay doAvn under a tree and soon fell 
asleep. 

Castaneda remained at his post of observation; 
he also could now rest from his hard march, but 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 183 

he would not slee^:); his gaze wandered from the 
ravine to Henry, then the wild doves which came 
to eat the berries chained his attention. The bird 
catcher still slej^t. 

Castaneda glanced again at the careless sleeper, 
when he suddenly started in astonishment. 

Did not a wild Indian face peep out of the thick 
green hedge directly behind Henry? Yes, and 
was not that face, with its greedy eyes, that of the 
Carib Callinago? 

Castaneda w^as not disappointed. But what did 
the Carib want? Would he cool his revenge by 
murdering the sleex)er? Oh, the malicious fellow! 

Could not Castaneda now siiring up, and frighten 
away the murderer by a cry? 

Castaneda did not move. He watched the pro- 
ceedings over in the meadow with the same in- 
terest with which one witnesses tragedies upon 
the stage. What was one Indian life more or less 
to Castaneda? Let them murder each other. 
That would be to his advantage. Then Callinago 
would melt in his hand like wax, and draw out 
his purse and give up his secret. Castaneda, in- 
deed, believed that he had found the gold valley, 
and certainly Callinago could siDare him much 
unnecessary climbing. So he would leave mat- 
ters to take their course over opposite. 



184 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

The Carib advanced ; he crept up to his sacrifice 
lilve a wildcat. But he had no weax)ons in his 
hand. Did he intend throttling the sleeper? 
Castaneda's excitement rose to the utmost i)itch. 

At length Callinago was close beside his victim. 
He rose, remained in a kneeling posture, and 
glared at the young Indian; meanwhile his left 
hand fumbled in the cloth he wore about his bod}^ 
and now the little bag came to view. Castaneda 
could not understand the savage's actions. There 
was surely gold in this bag; what did the Carib 
want with that? 

Carefully Callinago now opened the bag, and 
his long fingers fumbled within. He held some- 
thing between his finger-tips, but it must have 
been but a small quantity, for Castaneda could 
not see it. But Callinago closed the bag and 
threw it in the ravine, but a few steps distant. 
The little thing flew noiselessly through the air, 
and Castaneda watched it, horror-struck. How 
coidd this Carib let an object in which his master 
had for so long been interested, and so intensely, 
vanish into such a deep gulf! 

But he must Avatcli the savage. He rose quick 
as lightning to his feet, and now stood behind the 
sleeper's head. A quick movement of the iq^per 
body, then the Carib strewed somethino- which he 




THE CARIBBEAN S SECRET. 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 185 

held between his finger-tips under the nose and 
upon the lips of the young Indian, and with two 
quick but noiseless leaps disappeared in the 
thicket. 

Henry awoke at once; he rose and rubbed his 
mouth and nose, he sneezed, coughed, expecto- 
rated. All this seemed droll to Castaneda. Had 
this Carib strewn snuff, pepper, or something 
similar under the nose of his mortal enemy, for a 
Ijractical joke? Oh, that Avas childish ! one need 
not creep after his enemy so long for this. 

But Henry seemed decidedly ill ; he wiped out 
his mouth with grass, he groaned aloud; but then 
he picked U13 his doves, threw them over his back, 
and rushed away through the woods. 

The little meadow was empty. Over among 
the trees, a mocking-bird sang, and the crows 
mocked him derisively Avith their harsh croaks. 
Castaneda remained quietly at his post of obser- 
vation, and thought of the pantomime of which 
he had just been an invisible witness. He did 
not w^ish to leave yet, so as to encounter the In- 
dians on their way home. 

The longer he thought over it, the clearer it be- 
came to him that this could be no idle joke; it 
must be a serious affair. Why did the Carib hurl 
the bag away from him? There was surely no 



186 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

gold in it, and Castaneda began to suspect that 
there had been x^oisoning here. 

He now sat in the midst of the thicket, and 
pondered the savage's devilish trick; he forgot 
for a moment the gold mines, for the society of 
the Carib who lived in his own house now seemed 
terrible to him. 

An hour might have elapsed while he sat there 
meditating, when Castaneda was roused from his 
revery by the feeling of hunger; he drew a piece 
of manioca bread from his x>ocket and began to 
eat it, but it did not taste good ; he thought of 
poison, and involuntarily shook his black head. 
Then he threw the piece of bread to the dog. 
Bezerillo devoured it, and Castaneda smiled; 
needless prudence was that, he thought, for the 
dog is stupider than a man. 

He rose and surveyed the valley. It seemed 
quite different to him now — no longer so gay, so 
idyllic, as an hour before; the sunlight still lay on 
mountains and meadows, but it seemed faint, and 
the landscape looked gloomy. Castaneda glanced 
up at the sky, and at once found an explanation 
for this appearance. A black cloud hung over 
the mountain-top, and the sun was already par- 
tially veiled ; a hurricane was ai3X)roaching. 

Castaneda at once knew that he could not pos- 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 187 

sibly reach his house before the storm burst. He 
must let it first pass over, and he now sought 
some shelter. Perhaps he could find a cave here. 

He went to the edge of the ravine, but found 
everywhere steep rocks; and as meanwhile the 
wind had risen, he withdrew to the thickest part 
of the forest, in which he felt more x>rotected. 

He found here a small cavity in an enormous 
tree-trunk, in which he crowded himself, while 
Bezerillo crouched at his feet. The hurricane 
burst upon them, the rain poured in torrents upon 
the lofty leafy roof, and this sound partly drowned 
the incessant roar of the thunder. Darkness 
almost like that of a moonless night prevailed, 
only lit up by the frequent flashes of lightning. 

Castaneda stood there quietly; he was accus- 
tomed to such storms, and knew that this one 
would not last long, and in fact after an hour he 
could leave his tree-trunk. But his x)osition was 
unenviable; up to this time he had trusted the 
dog, who had followed the fresh scent. But in 
this fearful thunder-storm all scent was obliter- 
ated, and the dog could not find it. 

The Si)aniard could not lose his way totally : he 
had been ascending continually ; now the direction 
nuist lead down the mountain. After hours of 
forcing his way through the forest, he at length 



188 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

reached tlie savanna, hungry and exhausted, but 
he was far away from the point where he had 
entered the forest, and not until late at night, 
worn out, drenched, and shaking with cold, did 
he reach King's Court. The first to meet him 
was Callinago. Castaneda shuddered at sight of 
the Carib. He tried to control himself, but the 
shudder did not cease, his teeth chattered; he 
knew very well what that meant — he had taken 
cold in the damp forest, and j)erhaps a malignant 
fever. 

He sought his bed and wrapped himself up in 
woollen coverlets. The Carib nursed him. But 
in Casta neda's eyes the savage became the devil 
himself, for the Sjjaniard was feverish, and re- 
pulsed all drink, as in everything offered him he 
suspected poison. At length he grew calmer and 
fell into a deep sleep. 

When he awoke, the sun was high in the heavens. 
He felt weak, but nevertheless he arose, for he 
had an iron constitution which could not be un- 
dermined by one attack of fever. The events of 
the past day seemed like a dream to him ; he could 
scarcely comprehend them ; he even doubted the 
reality of his recollections until the sight of the 
Carib brought the whole back to his memory. 

Silently he ate his breakfast, whistled to Bez- 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 189 

erillo, and went to Lignria. He was consumed 
Avith uneasiness, for he must learn how Henry 
Avas — he must know whether he had witnessed a 
joke or a devilish act. 

Marchena was not to be found in his house ; the 
two rooms Avere empty and not a soul AA^as in sight. 
Usually Castaneda greeted such ox)portunities 
most joyfully, and made use of them to rummage, 
to knock on the planks of the house and see 
Avhether secret compartments AA^ere to be found, 
to examine the floors closely, and in suspicious 
cases to raise one of the planks slightly. But 
'to-day he could not stay in the house. He had 
no thoughts for gold; this time his mind AA^as fully 
occupied Avith — poison. 

So he AAxnt to the Indian Adllage of Liguria, 
Avhere Henry liA^ed. And rightly guessed, he 
learned that Marchena aa as in Henry's hut. Cas- 
taneda Avended his Av^ay thither. He found Mar- 
chena busy in preiDaring cold compresses for the 
young Indian. 

So he was ill, this inspector Henry ; and he must 
be A^ery seriously ill, for his AAife, Ara, AA^rung her 
hands. Castaneda, as though astonished, asked 
AAdiat had happened. 

Marchena told him that immediately after the 
storm the Indian had returned from the aa oods, 



190 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

in a pitiable condition, writhing with agony. He 
had soon after lost consciousness, and now he 
spoke rainblingly as though feverish, and yet he 
was quite cold. "He has not been as lively as 
usual for the last few days," said Marchena. " His 
illness must have been coming on; then he was 
exposed to the storm, and now it has seized him." 

" Yes, the storm, this liurricane," said Castaneda. 
" It surx)rised me too in the woods yesterday, and 
in sx)ite of my iron nerves I returned home with 
chattering teeth. I was feverish, then in a sweat, 
and to-day feel as thougli I had been beaten." 

He gazed closely at the sick man, who twitched 
with pain and spoke incoherently. 

" Where is he suffering, Marchena ? " he asked. 

He shrugged his shoulders. " I do not under- 
stand anything about such things," said he. "H 
Dr. Chanca were but here! Ara declares that he 
has tasted poisonous roots, and in fact his mouth 
seems inflamed, but Henry knows the fruits and 
roots of the forest better than all of us. He prob- 
ably has the ]3estilential fever which prevails in 
this country, and which has carried off so many 
of us " 

Castaneda did not contradict him, but he had 
his own opinion. He went back to King's Court 
and pondered. 



WITH COLUMBUS IT^ AMEKICA. 191 

" Tlie Indians of Hispaniola cannot understand 
poisons," he tliouglit to himself. " That is a Carib 
accomplishment. Inspector Henry will die, and 
every one will believe it a natural illness. This 
Callinago sets aside an enemy thus, and except 
me no one has a susi^icion of his crime. What a 
poison that must be! But let us wait and see 
whether the patient Avill really die. Such a bit 
of powder under the nose — it is almost incredible. 
But even if it were true, do I need it now? I 
have found the beautiful valley. Oh yes, it is 
possible that there gold looks out of the lap of 
Mother Earth, for the mountains are cleft; how 
the water has rushed over those rocks for centu- 
ries! I do not need it. And yet — if the gold 
mines do lie there, if one can there find lumps of 
solid gold, need two know it? Need the booty 
be divided? We have been in Yega-real for tAvo 
years ; has not this Maix'hena gone through every- 
thing in this time? Of course, with the helj) of 
this insi3ector, whose Avife he purchased so dearly. 
Oh, no, such thoughts are not simply to be dis- 
missed without further pondering. It is indeed 
strange: this meeting! There in the ravine, near 
the gold, lies — poison; lies in a leather bag; the 
rain cannot so soon have washed it away. To be 
sure, it must not stay there long, for many of these 



192 AVITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

rainstorms might tear apart the leather itself. 
We have therefore no time to lose; we must have 
both, for, if the poison really kills in this fashion, 
it is without doubt a treasure." 

The sound of trumpets roused Castaneda from 
these thoughts. Who was coming? He hurried 
out. They were Si^aniards. W^hat did they want? 
Had not Margarite gone? Whom could Vega- 
real have attracted? 

It was Ojeda. He came on a strange errand. 
He was sent not by Bartholomew Columbus, not 
by Diego; the commander of Isabella sent him. 
He took possession of Vega-real in the name of 
the Si3aniards who rebelled against the Genoese 
dominion, and at their head was the judge, Fran- 
cisco Roldan. 

Castaneda heard these tidings with joy, but 
Marchena with a sad heart. There was a revolt ; the 
Genoese were threatened with the force of arms. 
Ojeda himself read the proclamation of revolt in 
Vega-real, and took leave of his old acquaintances, 
for he wished to sail for Si3ain at the first oppor- 
tunity, to carry the complaints of the deceived 
Castilian nobles to the king. 

The mutinous troop had appeared like a black 
cloud upon the sky of Vega-real; soon after to 
disappear; but two of the rebels remained to settle 



WITJI COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 193 

as new hacienderos. They were men of the worst 
sort ; they had come from Spain on the last shij^s. 
Cohimbus had Avished to send as many settlers 
as possible to the New World, and had induced 
the king to allow these criminals to go to His- 
X)aniola as colonists. The new-comers were much 
worse than Castaneda, and after a few days Mar- 
chena gave up all hope that in a short time a 
decent state of affairs would prevail in Yega-real. 
The new farmers settled in two distant villages, 
and thtA^e began to oppress the Indians like 
satraps. Meanwhile a sad misfortune befell Mar- 
chena: his faithful servant, Henry, died, after a 
week's* illness. Now Marchena felt deserted and 
homesick, and the latter feeling grew stronger 
and stronger, for the livelier the condition of affairs 
became in Yega-real, the more threatening did the 
torniented Indians become. The new settlers de- 
clared that Columbus, now on his third voyage, 
must be somewhere to the south of Hispaniola, 
and so the resolve gradually strengthened in 
Marchena's mind to go to San Domingo, the new 
city founded by Bartholomew Columbus, there to 
await the admiral's arrival, and join the explorer 
on his further journeys. 

But much was to happen before he could really 
carry out this resolve. 
13 




XIV. 



During this time Castaneda had been very 
busy in the mountains. He had availed himself 
of the time when Marchena'S attention was occu- 
pied with Henry's illness and the recent events in 
Isabella and San Domingo. 

But the gold-seeker was not especially satisfied 
with the result of his investigations. He always 
returned with empty hands. ]N"owhere in the 
valley had he found gold mines ; Marchena's secret 
remained as impenetrable as ever. 

Then he learned one day that Henry was dead. 

This news had a great effect upon him; his 
thoughts took another direction. "Why do I 
search at this distance?" he asked himself. "Is 
not ihe treasure near at hand? " 

He watched the Carib. The cannibal no longer 
went into the forest, he was calm, content, and 
suffered no remorse. He had accomplished his 
purpose by means of the poison in the bag. Cas- 
taneda fought with himself for a time, but then 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 195 

his evil spirit conquered. This evil spirit, which 
showed him in dreams the lumj)s of gold, won the 
victory over the remnant of his better principles, 
and the next day, in company with several In- 
dians, but without Callinago, he set out for the 
woods. 

The Carib barred his path. • 

"Master, do not trust the peojile," said he. 
"They are mutineers; I have listened to what 
they said. They Avish to murder us both and flee 
to the w^oods! '' 

Castaneda stood still. He w^as imprudent in 
such matters, and resolved to make an example. 
He returned, and instituted one of those terrible 
Spanish courts of inquiry. 

The Carib was the accuser. He had overheard 
the conversation of tw^o men, and these should be 
13unished to frighten the others. Castaneda com- 
manded that their hands be cut off. 

The savage Carib seized the condemned and 
executed this sentence: the other Indians stood 
silently by, but from beneath the lashes of many 
youths secretly shot vengeful glances. They led 
away the unfortunates to save their lives if x^ossi- 
ble. But the news of the Spaniard's barbarous 
cruelty spread throughout Vega-real. The Indians 
assembled in the villages and held secret meetings. 



196 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

This day Castaneda remained at home, but he 
did not give up his plan. " This disturbance 
among the savages comes as if arranged," tliought 
he. " They wish to murder, to exterminate us 
Christians. Pah! They will jjerhaps also make 
use of poison. It is at least easy, under these 
circumstances, to rest suspicion upon these red- 
skins." 

The next morning he impressed upon Callinago 
that he was to keei) an eye u2:)on the mutinous 
band, and left the farm. He carried a light 
sack on his back ; within it were several tools — a 
chisel, a hammer — and a fifty-foot rope. 

Castaneda set out, accom^^anied by his dog alone, 
toward the mysterious valley. After a three- 
hours' walk, he stood on the meadow on which 
about a week before he had seen that pantomime 
tragedy enacted, and he looked down into the 
ravine into which Callinago had thrown his purse. 

The precipice descended here some forty feet 
abruptly; then the rocks formed a ledge which 
was perhaps a hundred feet square, and, farther 
below, the sides again descended steeply to a 
yawning dex)th at least two hundred feet below 
where he stood. 

On the smooth rocky ledge lay that which Cas- 
taneda sought, the xDoison-filled bag. 



AYITII COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 197 

It was impossible to reach tliis bag by climbing, 
the rocks were everywhere so steep. Castaneda 
had learned this days before, and for this reason 
he had brought the rope. He laid down the sack 
and his bag of food, got out the rope, fastened it 
to a tree growing near the x^recipice, and with a 
beating heart slid doAvn to the ledge. Soon he 
felt lirm ground beneath his feet; he stood at his 
goal, but a few steps away from the bag. But he 
did not move ; he stood there as if petrified ; his 
features betokened the utmost astonishment ; then 
he sprang quickly over the purse, and picked up 
a stone at the opposite edge of the preciiiice. A 
yellow vein shone in this stone, and a wild cry of 
joy issued from Castaneda's lij^s — he had found 
the long-sought gold mines. 

He pressed the stone, he kissed it, and hid it 
in his breast-pocket; then he walked along the 
edge of the rock and examined crevice after crev- 
ice. He had not deceived himself; grains and 
veins of gold sparkled at him, and he began to 
r break off bits of the rock with feverish haste 
until his fingers bled. 

The pain forced him to desist. " Oh, what a 
fool I am ! " said he. " I have a chisel and ham- 
mer with me." 

In an instant he swung himself up the rope, 



198 WITH COLUMBUS IN" AMERICA. 

seizing his tools, and slid down to tlie ledge 
again. 

Ah, now the whole was easier; a heap of gold 
nuggets lay before Castaneda, and he let them 
slide through his wounded fingers. The perspira- 
tion stood out in great drops on his brow. 
"Enough for to-day," thought he; "but I must 
bring down my bag of food." 

He climbed up and down once "more ; he took 
the Indian bread out of the bag, and Avhile he ate 
it he gazed down upon the heap of gold and said, 
" To-day I have honestly earned my lunch hour." 

His eyes chanced to fall upon the forgotten bag 
of poison. 

" Poison and gold! " he murmured. " They are 
finely suited— or do I need that now?" 

He pondered this for a long time, then he con- 
tinued his soliloquy: "Why should I leave this 
unusual find lying here? Who knows when it 
may come in handy? There might be others who 
have found out this secret." 

When he had finished his meal, he gathered the 
gold into his bag, and picked up the bag of poi- 
son. He opened it carefully and discovered a 
white powder. He held his breath and fastened 
the bag up again tightly. Then he laid it on top 
of the gold in his sack, hung it around him, and 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMEEICA. 199 

climbed ui3 the rope. Bezerillo lay under a tree; 
he had kept watch. Castaneda seated himself 
beside him ; down on the ledge he had been ex- 
posed to the burning' sun — he wished to rest in the 
shade. " Only not sleep," thought he. But then 
he added: "Bah! I have a guard; my Bezerillo 
is with me; no Carib will sur]3rise me." 

He did really fall asleep, but in a few minutes 
he was awakened by the dog, who was tugging 
at his coat- sleeve and gazing over the precij^ice, 
with a growl. 

"AVhat do you suspect, Bezerillo?" asked Cas- 
taneda. 

But the dog quieted himself when he saw his 
master aAvake, and lay down at his feet. 

" So, so, I must not slee^i," said Castaneda. 
" You are right, old comrade. We will draw uj) 
the line and carry the treasure home. It certainly 
is a fairy-land, this Hispaniola, and Columbus a 
great man! " 

The evening of this same day the Carib Cal- 
linago announced to his master that the white 
man in Liguria Avas making ]oreparations for de- 
parture; he was going to San Domingo, for the 
admiral was exj^ected there. Castaneda sx)rang 
up at this news. 

What? Marchena was going in search of the 



200 WITH COLUMBUS I^ AMERICA. 

Genoese? Why? Surely only to disclose to him 
the gold mines. Then Columbus' brothers would 
come here with their retinue, and Castaneda men- 
tally saw the third part of his gold wander to the 
admiral's pockets. He set his teeth and stamped 
his foot. 

" No, dolly," cried he, " you dare not rob me of 
the fruit of my two years of hard labor; you shall 
not leave Yega-real alive. My plan had long been 
made. This very day I will act." 

He went to his room, took the bag of poison 
from one of the locked chests, put it in his pocket 
after wrapping it tightly in linen, and went to 
Liguria. 

The sun was near the horizon. Castaneda 
looked out across the savanna, and saw Marchena 
going toward the distant potato field. That was 
a Avelcome sight to him ; he quickened his steps 
and soon arrived at the house. 

Ara stood before the door. 

" Where is your master? " he asked. 

" In the field," she replied. 

''Fetch him quickly," said Castaneda impera- 
tively. " I must speak Avith him." 

Ara hesitated. 

"Did you hear?" said he. " Run qfuickly ; I 
must speak with him at once." 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 201 

Ara glanced questioningly at the Sx)aniard ; then 
she Avalked slowly off and disappeared around 
the house corner. 

Scarcely had this happened when Castaneda 
liurried into Marchena's bedroom, raised the 
covers from the bed, and strewed the poison- 
ous ]30wder carefully over the pillows; then he 
wrapped the leather bag up again in the linen, 
and hurried out on the veranda, while he closed 
the doors again. 

It was a long time before Marchena came. 

'^ You are preparing to go to San Domingo, eh? " 
Castaneda asked him. "Is the admiral already 
on the island? I have heard it from Callinago." 

" The admiral is expected," replied Marchena, 
"and I do not want to miss him this time." 

"And how did you learn this? " asked Castaneda. 

"One of the new settlers brought a number of 
Carib slaves here from Isabella to-day, and he told 
me." 

" Ah, they follow my example and bring Caribs 
with them," cried Castaneda. " One must beware 
of these tall fellows, for they are sly and evil 
natured." 

"Do you think so?" said Marchena. "I even 
believe that my poor Henry fell a victim to the 
malice of a Carib." 



202 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

"Olio!" cried Castaneda, pricking iij) liis ears 
in surprise, " that is news to me. That is a com- 
plaint against my Carib." 

" Yes," replied Marchena calmly, " but you are 
as innocent as I. That is but the conclusion of 
the romance which was enacted between Liguria 
and King's Court." 

" I am really curious." 

" I can tell you. You know that I am interested 
in the Carib language." 

"Oh, yes! It is a strange language, is it not? 
The men have one, and the women another, for 
themselves." 

"You know it, too! The new farmer brought 
several Carib Avomen with him, and I talked with 
these. I do not know how it happened, but I 
asked one of the women about the poisonous 
X)lants of the forest, and described Henry's illness, 
for it was not impossible that he had been poi- 
soned; Ara at least declared so." 

Marchena paused. 

" Go on, go on, neighbor," cried Castaneda im- 
patiently. 

" The Carib woman confirmed Ara's suspicion, 
and she described to me the poison which killed 
Henry. It is made of the root of the poisonous 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 203 

" You think that Henry ate it? " 

Marchena shook his head. " No," said he. " I 
learned from this Carib the horrible manner in 
which Indians revenge themselves." 

"You speak in riddles," cried Castaneda. 
" What has revenge to do with this affair? It is a 
case of accidental poisoning." 

"Do not interrupt me," continued Marchena. 
" In the end everything will be as clear to you as 
to me. 

" The Indian, so his wife told me, possesses a 
boundless thirst for revenge which often drives 
him almost to madness, and torments him as soon 
as he feels his honor or his wife insulted ; a thirst 
for revenge which is not quenched except by the 
death of the insulter, or even by the extermina- 
tion of his whole family. Eevenge among the In- 
dians assumes the most terrible forms. Bat the 
avenger, the ' canaima^ does not publicly proclaim 
his rage, but falls upon his victim when he fancies 
himself most secure, from the most secret hiding- 
places. He prefers to make use of the numerous 
poisons with which he is familiar, to accomplish 
his gloomy aims. Among those poisons having 
the most fearful effects is the 'maschi,' which is 
made of the root of the poisonous arum. The 
Indians cut the I'oot into thin strips, dry them 



204 WITH COLUMBUS IIST AMEKICA. 

in the sun, and then, with the greatest precau- 
tion, grind them to the finest i3owder. The root 
is so poisonous that they are afraid to touch 
it, as the mere touch causes intense burning 
and intlammation of the skin. If a desire for 
vengeance causes the Indian to become a ca- 
naima., he pursues his victim like a serpent, 
and never lets him out of his sight until he at 
length succeeds in surprising him asleep. Then 
he strews a small quantity of the poisonous pow- 
der on his lips or under the nose, so that the 
sleeper shall inhale it. An intense burning in the 
intestines, terrible thirst impossible to quench, 
delirium — these are the symptoms of this poi- 
soning, which always ends in death." 

Marchena x)aused again. 

"And do you believe that?" asked Castaneda; 
" and what does the new settler say to that? " 

" I have not sjDoken with him about it ; but you 
are leadi ug me away from my subject. Do you 
know who the canaima is in this case? " 

" No," replied Castaneda, in a hoarse voice. 

"Oh, you must know it!" cried Marchena. 
" Who crept like a serpent in the grass behind 
my Henry? Whose path so often crossed ours? 
Who swore vengeance upon Ara's husband? The 
canaima is none other than your Callinago ! " 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 205 

It had meantime grown dark, and Marchena 
could not see liow ashy pale Castaneda's face had 
become. 

Bat at this moment his and his guest's atten- 
tion was attracted to another subject. A loud 
desi3airing whine came from the bedroom, and 
through the open windoAv Bezerillo sprang out 
upon the veranda ; he rolled, howling and whining, 
ux)on the lloor, and rubbed his nose against the 
wall. 

Marchena stood there in amazement. But Cas- 
taneda muttered a curse. In a moment all Avas 
clear to him. In the twilight he had not noticed 
the dog, and had shut him in ; the poor animal 
had wished to sleep on Marchena's bed, and had 
inhaled the i30wder. 

But Castaneda collected himself. "The dog 
has gone mad," he cried. " I mast kill him upon 
the spot." He drew his dagger. 

But Bezerillo, in an agony, sprang over the edge 
of the veranda into the vegetable garden, and 
Castaneda hurried after him Avith drawn dagger. 

Bezerillo ran to King's Court, and Castaneda 
followed him. Marchena stood silent. Bat Ara 
came up to him and said: " He too is a canaima; 
did I not tell you that he strewed poison under 
your pillows? You did not believe me; now the 



206 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

dog has poisoned himself. Avoid him; he is a 
friend of the Carib." 

Marchena silently pressed the hand of the pre- 
server of his life. 

" Only a fev/ more days," he murmured, '' and 
then Ave will have left Yega-real." 

Meanwhile Castaneda hurried after the dog. 
Only near King's Court did he overtake him. 

"Stupid, betraying beast!" he screamed in 
his rage, and stabbed the dog with his dagger. 
"So!" he continued, standing beside the dead 
animal, " now you have been mad. Who can say 
that a canaima has poisoned you too? " 

Then he gazed over toward Liguria, which 
stood out upon the hill bathed in moonlight, 
and plainly distinguishable above the savanna. 

" No, I will not return there to-night. Let the 
aifair take its course." 

With bowed head and slow step he went to his 
house. All was still there ; only the Carib sat be- 
fore the door, awaiting his master. Castaneda did 
not exchange a word with him, and went into his 
bedroom, but no sleep came to him this night. 




XV. 

" The dog is dead! " This went from montli to 
mouth in King's Court, and the Indians' eyes 
sparkled with delight. 

''The master killed him himself! He should 
not have done it!" said a slender youth, and 
winked knowingly to the others. "JS^ow our 
tracks in the grass will vanish, and no one will 
bark to betray our nearness. AVho will watch 
while he sleeps or digs for gold? He is now but 
half as strong as before, and a mere child in the 
forest. The hour of vengeance is at hand." 

So whispered the slender youth, and went to 
work with the others to clear a bit of forest at 
the edge of the savanna. 

Castaneda was out-doors at the very dawm ; he 
walked toward Liguria slowly, as though his 
feet were weighted with lead. From time to 
time he looked over at the house. All was quiet 
there as yet; the window blinds were closed, al- 



208 WITH COLUMBUS IX Aa\LEEICA. 

though Marchena was accustomed to leave his 
bed before sunrise. 

Castaiieda had not been able to sleep the past 
night, for it seemed to him that a poisonous dust 
rose from the pillows and suffocated him. Had 
Marchena rested on his? 

Rested ! Oh, his was a bed such as the Devil 
might prepare for sinners! What a thought! 
Castaneda now trembled. '' Who thinks of death 
and hell in this bright sunlight? Think rather of 
the gold mines, Castaneda," said he to himself. 
•'Oh, they are rich; yoa will work them alone, 
you alone will profit by them, and think of the 
joys which await you in Castile! " 

But he did not think of them ; he gazed again 
at the house, which was now close before him. 

Ara stood on the veranda. And Marchena — 
could he be already dead? No, the poison did 
not work so quickly. 

A hundred more sIoav, slow steps, then Cas- 
taneda stood at the foot of the veranda steps. He 
had completely recovered his self-possession in 
Ara's presence, and asked innocently: "Where 
is your master, Ara? Is he still asleep? " 

" Yes, he is asleep," replied the Indian softly. 
"And I do not wish to wake him, for he has 
passed a bad night; he complained of j)ain, but 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 2()9 

now he has become quiet, quite quiet — come 
again later! " 

Castaneda lowered his eyes, and did not see 
with what scorn, what contempt, the Indian re- 
garded him. 

" He has become quiet, he is dying ! " said a 
gloomy voice in his heart, and he did not demand 
admittance. 

"Very well, Ara! I will call again later. I 
wish him a si^eedy recovery," he replied, and 
turned his back upon the house. 

He is dying. The canaima jDoison works surely, 
and in such a quantity it must hasten death. But 
Castaneda had no desire to see him die. IS'ot for 
any price ! What should he do to-day ? Remain 
in his house? Marchena might send for him. 
No, that must not be ! Let him die alone ! 

So he would go aw^ay from King's Court, away 
from human society — away into the woods — to 
the beautiful valley, to the glittering gold ! 

And with the same outfit as on the preceding 
day, Castaneda disappeared into the thicket of the 
tropical forest. The Indians, who were busy fell- 
ing trees near by, greeted him, but he did not honor 
them with r.n* answer. He merely looked around 
mechanically as he entered the woods, he sought 

his faithful companion Bezerillo— ah, he was dead ! 
14 



210 wnii coFJi.Minis in amiouk^a. 

He si,ii;li('(l mikI walked on. He was now per- 
fectly I'ainiliai- with llic way; he niMMlcd no leader. 
Yesterday (*allinai;() had warned liini of the In- 
dians, but Ji(^ liad ali'eady ('lie(^ked the Jebc^lliou 
in tlie veiy ^-erni, aiid Uk^ .savages liad I'oi* some 
time stood in snitabki awe of him. 

IIowsh)wly .(.astaneda walked (o-day! h'joni 
linu^ lo lime he nnisl rons<' himsell" and (juicken 
his i)ace. 

At h'n.i;(ii lie stood at the edii^e of tin; ^^okl-coii- 
cealini!; abyss. Mechanically he fastened thc^ rope 
to Ihe ti'ee, hiini:,- the bread bai;- around him, and 
slid down lo Hk^ led^c. IMechanically he seiz<'d 
chisel and hammei'and went up lo the lock, l)nt 
now he fell tluit he was weary, and so he sealed 
himself lo rest. The sun (li<l not reach Hie ravines 
nnlil aflei' noon, and so the si)ot was not unpleas- 
antly waini now. 

(laslaneda's lips w(M-e diy; he seized the walei* 
llask which hung at his side, and took a drink. 
Then he ate some manioca bread and tliought of 
that evening when Marchena for the iirst time 
offered him this bread upon a plate. 

Again this Mai'dnnia. 1 lad his suffei'ings ended 
now? l^robably, but there lay Hie gold for tln^ 
sake of which (^astajieda had done all. To work! 
he told himself. Work, work ! His father's words 



wrrn coi.nMnus in America. 211 

rang in his o:irs: ''It is 1 lie gi'eiitest blessing for 
mMiikiiid; \\')ik niul you w ill be happy." (■iista- 
ninla seized his ehisel niid hniiimer :i!i(l went to 
work. 'V\u' bits ol* rock Hew right and left. Here 
iind there sj)ai*kled a bit of gold. Oh, this Avas 
larger than those which lie had seen in Marchena\s 
liiink, but to-day the sight did not electrify him. 
On tlio contrary, lie held the hammer poised and 
did not strike; he stood there like a statne and 
pondei'ed. 

His thonghts were far from all gold. "A human 
life!'' an inner voice whis[)ei-ed ! A human lifel 
Ah, that is something diiVei-ent ! He had indeed 
ordercnl the Indians' hands cut oil', but they were 
but savages who had wished to mui'diM' him. lUit 
this genth^ good-nat ui'ed Marchena, this young- 
man with the heait of gold, who even gave uj) 
gold for Ara. so that the (^ai'ib should not torment 
hei"- yes, this was a dillV^'eid man; lie was a 
Christian, a Spaiiiai'd, his biother! 

''JSonsense, Castaneda ! " said another inner 
voice. ''In Spain th(\v laughed at poor men. 
Poor men are trampled under foot. l>ecome 
wealthy, and the woild will bow before you." 

lie hainmered at the rock again. And his 
heart l)eat \iolently, his conscience ti'oubled him, 
and he sighed. Ah, if it all were but over! 



212 AVITII COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

He hammered, but lie did not see the gold which 
fell at his feet; he worked blindly on at the hard 
stone. Before his eyes the rocks danced and 
quivered, his head was confused and his heart 
beat almost to bursting. 

Minutes passed thus, and he did not hear the 
thrush singing above him. 

Hee, hee, hee ! What was that ? 

Hee, hee, hee ! 

Were not those yells above his head — a howl 
from many throats, as though a troop of devils 
Avere uniting in a song of triumph above him, as 
though they had come to carry the murderer to hell. 

Hee, hee, hee! 

He let the hand with the hammer sink. He 
scarcely dared raise his head to look at the devil- 
ish spirits above. 

And there were renewed yells above, and these 
cries awoke him gradually from his heavy, heavy 
dreams. That was the war-cry of the Indians. 

He looked up. There on the edge of the abyss 
danced a troojD of devils— Indians in w^ar-paint. 
And what was that? What were they throwing 
down at him? What was that w^hich fell heavily 
at his feet? What Avas that so cold and heavy 
which struck him in the face? He looked up and 
shuddered. 



WITH COLUMBUS IX AMERICA. 213 

They were four red hands, hands which yester- 
day he had ordered cut off. His face grew deathly 
pale, all the blood in his body rushed to his heart, 
which threatened to stop beating. One desj)air- 
ing glance toward the spot where the tree sjiread 
its branches over the precipice — the rope had van- 
ished and an Indian swung it tantalizingly above 
him. He gave a cry of despair, he raised his 
hands. And look! The Indian threw him the 
rope. It fell upon his outstretched arms, and from 
above rang out wild, x^iercing, derisive laughter. 

Castaneda broke down; he leaned against the 
rocky wall and rested his head in his hands, with 
which he covered his face. 

" Prepare for death ! " cried an inner voice. 
Then a stone flew down. They intended stoning 
him to death. And again a stone rattled down, 
and his foot twitched with pain. 

"Lord, forgive my sins, I confess them, I re- 
pent ! " cried Castaneda aloud, in his mortal 
terror. 

But loud exclamations of opposition were heard 
above : the Indians were quarrelling among them- 
selves; he only could understand the words: " Let 
him starve, let him thirst ! " 

Then the war-cry rang out again, and once more 
there was a burst of scornful laughter — and now 



214 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

all was silent in the ravine once more. But Cas- 
taneda did not venture to raise liis head. Mo- 
ments, long moments, passed. Then the thrush 
began to sing again, and, between the enchanting 
notes of the wild dove, the harsh caw of a crow 
could be heard. 

At length Castaneda looked up. The Indians 
had disappeared, but it had all been no mere 
dream of his excited fancy; the terrible memen- 
tos of his own ferocity, the blood-stained Indian 
hands, lay on the rocky ledge ; the rope also lay at 
his feet, one of which pained him. All was terri- 
ble reality; the executioners had withdrawn; the 
gold mine was the grave in which he was buried 
alive. 

Buried alive ! Castaneda's hair stood on end in 
horror, but soon he rose and limped forward. 

The sense of self -i^reservation had awakened in 
him, and at this moment all other feelings were 
stunned ; his whole thought and efforts were ex- 
erted to save himself. 

He went to the edge of the rocky ledge ; the 
Indians had thrown him the rope ; perhaj^s it Avas 
long enough, perhaiDS he could slide down it. 
Perhaps the ravine was not so deep as it seemed 
from above. If he could but slide down from ledge 
to ledge, and then climb down to the bottom. 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 215 

Castaneda laid himself fiat down on the rock, 
and crept to the very edge of the little plateau. 
He looked over, but a single glance destroyed all 
his hopes: the rox)e was fifty feet long, and the 
precipice fell two hundred feet below him, smooth 
and straight, down to the ravine in which the water 
of the mountain brook rippled. 

There was no possibility of escape in this direc- 
tion. 

He went back and examined his prison — a bit 
of rock some hundred feet square, surrounded on 
three sides by steep walls of rock. His glance fell 
u]3on the four hands which lay near him. He 
could not endure their presence ; he raised them 
shuddering, and threw them into the ravine. 

Now his grave was clean, he thought, and seated 
himself. 

He took courage and told himself that he had 
never before lost his head in the worst predica- 
ments. The rocks were not so very high. Forty 
feet ! A man could surely work his way up these. 
And had he not tools, a chisel and hammer? 
Could he not hew steps in the rocks? 

He sprang up. To work at once! He chose 
for this purjiose a portion of the rock which 
slanted slightly. It was broad at the bottom and 
grew smaller toward the toj), but was firmly at- 



216 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

tached to the main rock. The slight slope which 
it had was of immense advantage to Castaneda; 
this slope made the hewing of the steps easier. 
He set to work at once, but his foot, which had 
been bruised by the stone, pained him so much 
that he was forced to take off his boot. " If I had 
but some w^ater! " he said. But the small quan- 
tity which remained in the flask must be saved for 
the future. He must work rapidly, for he must 
finish his task before his hunger or thirst became 
unbearable. 

Castaneda began to hew the first step breast 
high. The bits of stone flew around him ; and al- 
though the sun shone down hotly, the first step 
was finished in an hour. 

He w^as forced to rest, but he looked at his work 
with satisfaction; in twenty-four hours he hoped 
to be up at the top, and he- could surely hold out 
for twenty-four hours. With joy he now gazed 
up at the sky, for just then the sun disappeared 
behind a black cloud. The scorching rays of the 
sun no longer disturbed him ; he could work on. 
He swung himself upon the first step, seated him- 
self wpon it and began to hew the second. 

The task was more difficult on account of the 
unfavorable position of his body. But Castaneda 
continued bravely, until he was prevented by the 
approaching hurricane. 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 217 

The wind whistled through the trees above him ; 
fortunately the storm did not come from the ex- 
posed side — the mountain protected him; in the 
ravine it was comparatively calm. 

He greeted the storm with joy, for it would 
bring him water, and the prisoner now prepared 
to hew a cistern in the rock at the edge of the 
ledge. 

During the rain, which lasted but half an hour, 
Castaneda had collected about two cubic feet of 
water in two holes, had drunk all he needed for 
the night, and had also filled his flask with water. 

He then went to work again ; and before dark- 
ness had fully set in, the third step was finished; 
only six or seven more steps and he was saved. 

He lay down to sleey), and this time his ex- 
hausted frame demanded its riglits; the moon, 
however, which rose shortly before dawn, saw 
him again at work; but he now made but slow 
progress; the chisel was bent, and Castaneda's 
strength diminished, for he Avas terribly hungry. 

In spite of all these difficulties, the fourth step 
was finished. But then the unwearied worker 
was forced to descend to rest, to eat and drink. 
The last bit of bread lay in his bag, and he had 
so much stone to hew before he reached the top. 

He inspected his supply of water ; it had sadly 



218 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMEIIICA. 

diminished through evaporation, and Castaneda 
was filled with fresh anxiety. 

His wounded foot had swollen and i)ained him 
more than yesterday. By this he was hindered 
in his work : and only slowly, very slowly, was the 
fifth step finished. The chisel was of no more 
use, it was so bent and blunted. He tried to 
straighten it, and it broke. The wooden handle 
of the hammer, too, had become loose. 

It was already noon when he began the sixth 
step, but the blows against the rock became 
Aveaker and weaker ; such exertions even Casta- 
neda' s iron constitution could not endure. He 
grew dizzy. 

Slowly he slid down the rock and fell down 
upon the splintered fragments of stone on the 
ledge. His tongue clove to his gums, his temples 
throbbed, and sparks danced before his eyes. 

Wearily he dragged himself to the water holes; 
the suj)ply had dwindled to the tiniest quantity, 
and with trembling hands he scooj^ed out the 
slime, but the small quantity did not quench his 
burning thirst— he was forced to take from his 
supply in the flask; and he ate the last bit of 
bread. 

Then lie looked up at the steps. A gigantic 
labor was yet to be performed, and his strength 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMEKICA. 219 

was gone, his foot swelled more and more. Cas- 
taneda now gave nj) all hoi^e. 

Meanwhile tlie fiery ball of the sun slowly as- 
cended over the mountain. Its rays already 
touched the edge of the ledge ux)on which Cas- 
taneda sat a prisoner. Smaller and smaller grew 
the strip of shade which the rocks threw. 

One hour more and all would be flooded with 
sunlight, this narrow cell changed to a fiery oven. 

Castaneda, tormented by the fear of death, tried 
to rouse himself to further effort; in vain, he was 
too exhausted ; he sank back with a groan. 

The sun now touched his feet ; he laid himself 
close along the wall ; for a brief time he would 
have shade. 

His thoughts now flew back to his house. Xow 
he had probably been missed. The settlers would 
come and ask for him. They would perhaps seek 
him in the woods; but Bezerillo, Avho could have 
found his traces, was dead. 

They would perhaps ox)en his chest and find the 
gold; but did they know where the mines were? 

Ah, one person knew very well. One person, at 
sight of the gold, could immediately guess where 
Castaneda was ; but the only one who could have 
saved him he had poisoned with his own hands. 
Marchena, like him, lay on his death-bed if the 



220 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

merciful God had not before this freed him from 
his sufferings. The merciful God! Castaneda's 
thoughts took another direction — he meditated 
upon his past, his life full of sin aiid wrong-doing ; 
remorse, fear of death and the judgment day came 
upon him, and in his helpless situation his mind 
sought consolation in the religion which in life he 
had neglected. 

He prayed, he repented of his sins, he prayed 
to the Virgin, and began to make a vow. 

If he were saved, saved by a miracle, he would 
give up his sinful life, he would do penance in the 
cloister Kabida, and devote the rest of his life to 
good works. He would then return to Hispaniola 
and here preach the Word of God, and convert the 
Indians, his fellow-men; would then show kind- 
ness to those whom he had formerly oppressed; 
would love those who were his enemies. 

But his thoughts became confused, for the sun 
rose higher and higher in the heavens, and its 
scorching rays fell upon Castaneda's head. A 
fearful thirst tormented him, and he drank the 
last clroi> of water. It was but a drop, which 
scarcely for one moment counteracted the effect of 
the heat. 

Castaneda recited Vi inciter noster aloud ; his voice 
was hoarse, the sound died on his lips, everything 



WITH COLUMBUS IT^T AMERICA. 



221 



grew dark before his eyes, liis mind was wrapped 
in darkness ; he still heard the thrush singing over 
head, the bird sang as sweetly as the nightingale 
in the rose thickets of Spain. 

Then all consciousness left the sun's victim. 




xyi. 



Soon after Castaneda had left Liguria, Marchena 
came out of his house. He was fresh and lively, 
for he had not touched the x^oisoned bed. 

"He was here and asked after your health," 
said Ara. 

Marchena's face wore a j)ained expression. 

" Come, Ara," he replied, " we will prepare for 
departure." 

The day passed with these preparations. Mar- 
chena wished to start for San Domingo early the 
next morning. In the afternoon he fetched the 
gold nuggets from the hollow trunk in the woods 
and took leave of the many spots with which he 
had once connected such rosy hopes. Vega-real! 
How beautiful this country was, and how greatly 
the Spaniards' avarice had injured it ! 

The most faithful of his servants, who wished to 
remain with him, he resolved to take with him to 
found with them, near San Domingo, under the 
admiral's protection, a new settlement. 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 223 

The last night in Liguria was spent quietly, and 
before dawn Marchena was astir. 

He arranged the luggage, divided it among his 
people, and this occux^ied the lirst hours after sun- 
rise. Marchena looked over toward King's Court 
from time to time. 

Had Casteneda not seen these preparations for 
departure? Had he not learned of it through his 
spies? Would he not, impelled by curiosity, come 
over to learn what was going on? 

Or did he believe himself discovered and was he 
ashamed? Yes, perhaps he did not dare look the 
man in the face whom he had wished to poison in 
the manner of the savage cannibal Caribs. 

But Marchena would not leave Yega-real with- 
out taking leave of him. He donned his broad- 
brimmed straw^ hat, took his stick, and went to 
pay a farewell call upon his neighbor. 

He was surprised that all was so quiet in King's 
Court. No columns of smoke rose against the blue 
sky ; not a soul was to be seen in the fields. All 
was quiet in the savanna, only the crickets chirped 
in the tall grass, and the croak of the frogs was 
heard in the swam^^s. 

He is busy clearing the woods, thought Mar- 
chena, as a reason for this strange silence, and 
walked on. 



224 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

Close to the house he found Bezerillo's carcass, 
surrounded by swarms of flies and gnats. " You 
did not deserve that! " said he, gazing at the x^oor 
animal. " You deserved a better fate, for you were 
faithful to your master, poor Bezerillo." 

He walked on. The yard was i^erfectly quiet, 
the house door stood wide open. Marchena went 
up the steps. He looked in the open door, but he 
started back in horror. 

Close behind the door, which had been burst in, 
lay the Carib Callinago, with gaping wounds in 
his breast and head. 

So it was the stillness of death which prevailed 
here. The Indians had avenged themselves for 
the opx^ressions Avhich had daily befallen them. 
Oh, yes ! Marchena at once knew that vengeance 
had been exercised here, for both of the Carib's 
hands had been cut off. That was the answer to 
the terrible execution. 

But where was the Spaniard? where was Cas- 
taneda? 

AVith beating heart Marchena stepped over the 
Carib's corpse and entered the room. No one was 
there. He entered the second room ; this also was 
empty, but confusion reigned here. 

The coverlets were gone, the j)illows were de- 
stroyed, and all the furniture the pillagers had 




THE INDIAN S REVENGE. 



AVITH COLUMBUS IN AMEKICA. 225 

taken away with them, even the iron of the locks 
and the nails; one thing alone had they left — the 
gold, it lay scattered on the ground. Marchena 
surveyed this treasure of Castaneda's scornfully. 
He was about to leave the room Avhen he trod on 
a stone which crumbled under his feet ; he glanced 
down involuntarily, and stood still in astonish- 
ment. He raised the bit of rock ; it was gold ore, 
the same that he had found and had wished to 
show to the admiral. 

Marchena inspected more closely the gold scat- 
tered on the floor. Yes, so it was; there were 
more similar i^ieces there. 

This glittering metal now threw a ray of light 
upon the dark events of the last days. 

Doubtless Castaneda had found the gold mines, 
and secretly worked them ; doubtless also he sus- 
pected that Marchena knew of the mines. Now 
he had learned that Marchena wished to go to 
meet the admiral in San Domingo ; he had feared 
that the former would communicate his discovery 
to Columbus, the rightful lord of all gold mines 
on Hispaniola ; and to prevent this, Castaneda in 
his greed had availed himself of the Carib's malice, 
of iDoison. And had not Ara watched the gold- 
seeker's actions in Marchena's room, through a 
crack in the log walls— had she not warned her 
15 



226 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

master, lie would surely now be lying upon the 
poisoned bed, dying a death of agony like poor 
Henry. 

But where was the poisoner? 

Marchena went to the Indian huts ; the corpses 
of the other Caribs grinned at him in a ghastly 
manner. They had been overpowered in their 
sleep, and they also had been mutilated as a sign 
of revenge — their hands had also been cut off. 
The tormentors were dead. 

But where was the master of King's Court? 

Marchena went from hut to hut, and searched 
the whole place. Nowhere was there a trace of 
the Spaniard, of his countryman ! 

He stood there utterly overwhelmed. A sad fore- 
boding tortured him. The Indians had taken 
Castaneda jDrisoner and had dragged him into the 
woods, there to leave him to a more lingering 
death. Perhaps lie was still alive ! He must be 
saved, at any j)rice. Marchena at this moment 
had forgotten all Castaneda's faults— had forgotten 
that he had attempted his, Marchena's, life— he 
saw in him only his neighbor, his brother, a Chris- 
tian and a Spaniard, who had a claim upon his help. 

But how could he undertake the pursuit of the 
escaped robbers and rebels? Whither had they 
betaken themselves? 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 227 

Marcliena had no bloodhound who could find 
the scent; but, hold, the Spaniards in the neigh- 
borhood had bloodhounds. Marchena did not 
hesitate for an instant, but turned in that direc- 
tion. 

After a quarter of an hour's walk, he stood on 
a hill from which he could overlook the new set- 
tlements. He started back in dismay, for here also 
he saw no sign of life, no cloud of smoke near 
the huts, not a person visible in the fields. The 
savanna lay there as quiet as the grave ; above it 
the sun poured down its burning hot rays. 

Marchena hastened his steps; he must see Avhat 
had hai)pened, and he was prepared for the worst. 

His suspicions had not deceived him : here also 
Death had reaped his harvest. The dogs were 
dead, the Caribs lay there dead, with their skulls 
broken, and both the Spaniards were dead, with 
their hands cut off. 

And once more Marchena walked through scenes 
of horror from hut to hut ; again he sought Cas- 
taneda's corpse, but did not find it. 

On the steps of the veranda of one of the new 
farm-houses, near the corpse of a Christian, he 
seated himself to collect his confused, dismayed 
thoughts. 

This night the Indians, then, had risen in Vega- 



228 WITE COLUMBUS IN AMEBIC A. 

real. It had been a planned affair — death to all 
Christians. All ? Was he not himself a Christian ? 
was he not a pale-face like the others? Why did 
perfect peace now reign in Liguria? 

His people had certainly known of the plot, 
but no one had touched a hair of his head. The 
feeling of gratitude was not then unknown to sav- 
age hearts — he was not their terrible oppressor. 

He had neither arms nor bloodhounds ; he had 
brought with him no Caribs for his protection ; he 
relied solely upon the j^rotection of the Most 
High, and he had used only justice and human- 
ity as protecting weapons. And so he was the 
only Spaniard left alive in Vega-real: he fell on 
his knees and thanked God with a fall heart. 

The only one! was Castaneda, then, really dead? 

They had surely fallen upon and murdered him 
in the woods. There could be no doubt of this, 
for if he were alive he would long since have come 
to Liguria. And what could he have been doing 
in the forest? A sudden idea flashed to Mar- 
chena's mind. Yes, yes, it was sure ! Castaneda 
had gone to the mine. And if the Indians sur- 
prised him there in a ravine, he was hopelessly 
lost. Marchena fancied that he knew in what 
ravine Castaneda sought for gold. He knew 
where poor Henry set his nets, and where Callinago 



WITH COLTTMBTTS m AMERICA. 229 

had poisoned him. "And if I find nothing but his 
corj^se," thought Marchena, " I have at least done 
my duty." 

Meanwhile the noon hour was long since past, 
and Marchena sought in the deserted house for a 
piece of bread, went to the spring and quenched 
his thirst. Then he started for Liguria. The 
people who were to go with him waited for him 
before his house door, the others were not to be 
seen: from the expressions of the Indians Mar- 
chena saw that they knew all, and that he had no 
news to tell them. 

" We are ready, master," said Ara. 

Marchena shook his head. 

"Not yet, Ara! " said he. 

"Why?" asked she, in astonishment. "Yega- 
real is deserted. We are still here to accompany 
you to Cibao ; then we also shall return to the 
woods. You have nothing more to seek here, 
Marchena ! " 

Marchena looked at her calmly ; wild defiance 
sparkled in her eyes. " You have nothing more 
to seek here," she had said. So then they hated 
him also because he was a Spaniard — so intensely 
that they did not wish to see him in their midst, 
and would only give him an escort to the border 
of Vega-real. 



230 WITH COLUMBUS IIST AMERICA. 

" No, Ara," he replied calmly, "I am not going 
yet, and I must stay here until I have found him 
whom I miss ! " 

" Whom do you, then, seek? " 

"Castaneda!" 

" The canaima! " cried the Indian, in surj^rise. 

" Yes, he is a Spaniard and I cannot leave him." 

" The canaima I "' repeated Ara. Then her eyes 
sparkled and she cried: "I know— you wish to 
revenge yourself upon him ! " 

Marchena shook his head and looked at her re- 
provingly. 

" Have you forgotten, Ara, what I told you of 
our God? He commanded us to forgive those 
who injure us. ' Love your enemies,' he com- 
manded." 

" And what will you do when you lind him? " 

" I will save him, Ara." 

''Oh, never! " cried Ara, while her eyes flashed 
wild hatred. 

"Never?" 

Then Marchena went closer to her and said: 
*' Do you remember the hour, Ara, when you knelt 
before me with Henry in the moonlight? Who 
freed you then from the hands of the terrible 
Carib? Our God commanded me to protect you, 
and he commands me to save Castaneda." 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 231 

"Do not sxDeak so loud," replied Ara, more 
gently, '' or else you are a dead man. The Indians 
hate the Spaniards ! " 

" Ara, he is alive ; you know where he is," whis- 
pered Marchena. 

She lowered her lashes and struggled with her- 
self. 

"Ara," he continued in a whisper, " be merciful 
as I was merciful to you. Your revenge is com- 
plete. Callinago is dead. I will save my canaima. 
Tell me where he is." 

" I cannot refuse your request," replied she. 
" But let the peoi)le go on to Cibao, or else we are 
lost if they learn what we wish to do." 

Marchena gave the necessary commands. Ara 
spoke softly to her fellow-countrymen ; then the 
little train set out. 

"Ara, what did you tell them?" asked Mar- 
chena, as the Indians went away. 

" They will set down your luggage on the hill 
near Cibao, and then take refuge in the woods, 
where we have found a new home, far from the 
Spaniards." 

The Indians disapj^eared in the distance. 

"Ara," continued Marchena, "tell me — where 
is Castaneda? Is he really alive? " 

" He must still be alive! " replied the Indian. 



232 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 



" You torture me! " cried Marchena. " Tell me 
the whole truth, Ara." 

'' Oh, he must feel happy: he has his chisel and 
hammer, and can collect gold, bright gold, for 
which he seeks so greedily. But he has no bread, 
and gold does not satisfy one's hunger, and no 
water springs from the rocks, and he has no wings 
with which to fly up and away. He has the rope 
lying at his feet, but his hands are too short to 
fasten it up above, and it is too short to reach to 
the bottom of the ravine where the water rushes. 
And the sun burns, Marchena. Burns fearfully! 
It kills men. And he is not alone: four hands 
keep him company— four bloody hands which he 
has cut off from our i3eople! " 

" He is in the ravine! " cried Marchena, spring- 
ing up, " and you have cut the rope? " 

" Yes, under the meadow where his friend the 
canaima Callinago surprised my Henry like a 
serpent. There he lies, and suffers torture with- 
out end. He is buried alive. Perhaps he is 
already dead, for the sun shines down with 
scorching heat to-day." 

"Ara! and we delay?" cried Marchena. "Come, 
we must hurry as on the wings of the wind! " 

"So you wish to go there, Marchena?" asked 
Ara mockingly. "What are you thinking of? 



WITH COLUMBUS IK AMERICA. 233 

It is a long distance, and we must take bread with 
us; and then, have you wings with which to fly 
down to him? We must have a roi^e. Your 
roj^es are x)acked ; we must look for a rope in the 
Indian village. Do you see to the bread, I will 
attend to the rope." 

It was already late in the afternoon, and Mar- 
chena, after bread and a rope were procured, urged 
her to set out, but Ara opposed him. 

'' Impossible ! " said she. " You must wait until 
twilight. If any of our people were to see you 
on your way to the forest, he would guess your 
purpose and be ahead of you. Besides, you must 
take your weapon — your sword — with you, for 
there is war in King's Court between us and the 
whites, and you might meet Indians Avho did not 
know you." 

Marchena silently took his sword and hung it 
over his arm in Arabian style. 

" Ara," he cried, " I shall not sneak away un- 
der the shades of night. Follow me or I go alone ! " 

He grasped the rope which she held in her 
hand. 

"You will!" said she in surprise. "You are 
not afraid? Good, I have warned you. Go! go 
alone. I will not expose myself to the rage of my 
people for the sake of a canaima! " 



234 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

He really started; lie walked away rapidly, 
without glancing back at her. Then Ara sprang 
up. " I must protect him if he meets our people," 
said she, and hurried after him. 

Soon after they disappeared into the forest. 

The yard of Liguria was empty ; birds twittered 
in the trees, mice ventured out of the storehouse. 
The smoke of the house tire rose for the last time 
from this spot. 

It was already twilight when Marchena crossed 
the little meadow above the abyss, and cried at 
the top of his voice, '* Castaneda ! Castaneda ! " 

He listened as he x)ushed on, but there was no 
answer. With a beating heart he went to the 
edge of the precipice, and, once more calling, 
" Castaneda ! " he looked down into the depths. 
All was silence, but in the half-light he i3er- 
ceived a human form lying outstretched upon 
the ledge. 

" Castaneda ! " he cried. " You are alive, are 
you not. Oh, pray, answer me; it is I, Marchena. 
I am come to rescue you." 

He listened, but there was no answering call 
from below. 

Then Ara rushed out of the woods and hurried 
up to him. 

" Silence! " cried she; " do not betray yourself. 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMEKICA. ^35 

They may be near! Quickly to work; see if lie is 
still alive." 

Soon tlie rope was fastened to the tree, and 
Marchena slid down, while Ara kept watch above. 

Marchena stood before Castaneda, bent over 
him, shook him, but he did not stir. By the last 
ray of light he gazed into the face of the uncon- 
scious man. Foam was on his lii)s, his eyes were 
closed, but he still groaned. 

Marchena did not hesitate. He seized his flask 
and poured the invigorating fluid between the 
dying man's lips ; then he wet his chest and face, 
and called to Ara to lower him the second flask. 

The moon now rose above the mountain, and 
Marchena could see the unconscious Castaneda 
more plainly. He bathed his face, x)oured water 
between his lips once more, and he perceived that 
this had its effect— the breath came more easily. 
But in sjjite of all his shaking, his calls, he could 
not rouse him from his stupor. 

" Marchena," whispered Ara from above, '' we 
cannot stay here forever. Come, draw him up. 
Marchena, do you hear? They may come, and 
then you will both die — you and he." 

Marchena now gave up all efforts to rouse him, 
fastened the rope around him, and Ara drew her 
mortal enemy ui3 from the horrible abyss. 



236 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

Once more the rope slid down, then Marchena 
also stood above beside Ara, who gazed down at 
the unconscious Castaneda in perplexity. " We 
must carry him away," said she; "but where?" 

" I knoAv a safe hiding-place," replied Marchena. 
" A cave near the w^aterfall. Thick bushes con- 
ceal the entrance. No one will find us there. It 
is not far aw^ay. Help me carry him, Ara." 

It was not far, but with this heavy weight, in 
the darkness but faintly illuminated by the moon- 
light, through tangled underbrush, by steep preci- 
pices, the march was not easy and took a long 
time. 

At length they stood before a thicket. 

" We are at the place," said Marchena. " Be- 
hind that thicket is the cave." 

He w^ent ahead and showed Ara the w^ay. They 
then returned, and soon after vanished behind 
the bushes with their load. 

The morning star shone in the sky, the outlines 
of the trees became more distinct in the approach- 
ing dawn. From its lofty eyrie the eagle, tile 
king of the air, arose. Its loud, piercing cry 
announced the sunrise, and soon after the sky 
became crimson, and a golden ray of light fell 
upon the high mountain-toj)s. 

The birds twittered in the forest, but suddenly 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMEKICA. 237 

a piercing howl of rage rang out in the distance. 
It came from the gold mine by the ravine, and 
was repeated many times. It made the hearts 
of those hidden in the cave tremble, for they knew 
what this howl of rage meant. The Indians had 
discovered that the victim of their revenge had 
escaped them. 

No ray of sunlight penetrated to the gloomy 
cave Avhich lay behind the thicket, but in sjDite of 
this the air within was not close, for it found 
constant circulation through nicks and crevices 
which led outward through the rock. From one 
side a small spring issued, which, soon after leav- 
ing the cave, lost itself in the thick undergrowth 
and tall foliage plants of the forest. 

This lack of sunshine, this cool, slowly circu- 
lating air, this murmuring, cold spring, were for 
the time of true benefit to the sick Castaneda. 

Yes, he was ill. The sun, the pitiless glowing 
sun, had made him ill. Exposed to its scorching 
rays he had been sunstruck, and, although Mar- 
chena's coming had saved him from death for the 
moment, he was not yet out of danger. He lived, 
but he suffered with an inflammation of the brain, 
from which he could but slowly recover. He was 
unconscious ; he lay there, now^ sunk in a stupefied 
slumber, now murmuring confused words. He 



238 WITH COLUMBUS 11^ AMERICA. 

was feverish, and the cool air was good for his 
condition, and the cold spring was his medicine, 
while near him sat a pitying sister, and cooled his 
head with cold compresses, and from time to time 
wet his lips with the cooling fluid. This pitying 
sister was Ara. She nursed the canaima. She 
was suri3rised at herself for doing this, for 
yesterday she had hated this man with all her 
heart. Her heart had rejoiced that he had fallen 
a victim to this revenge. And to-day she nursed 
him! Marchena had set her the example of how 
one should love one's enemies, should do good to 
them ; and the savage Ara felt that such an act 
elevated a human being, made him happy — felt 
it without being clear about it, without being able 
to exj)lain it in words. 

Her eyes did not sparkle as savagely as before, 
her defiance was broken. In this moment Ara's 
features wore a nobler expression; she was a 
woman, mild and good as women should be. 

Strange power of Christianity, which ennobles 
humanity, which replaces hatred and conflict with 
love and forgiveness, a desire for the gratification 
of passion with renunciation. This power acted 
upon the savage, and lifted her up to a higher 
existence. 

But where was he who had ennobled Ara by 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 



239 



his example? Where was the bold, brave, and yet 
so mild Marchena? 

He was now far from the cave ; Ara alone nursed 
the canaima^ Ara alone guarded him ; and Mar- 
chena could rest assured that, as long as Ara 
lived, not a hair of the head of the poor, mortally 
ill man would be harmed. 




XVII. 

Marchena arrived in Cibao, weary and ex- 
hausted, on the evening of the same day. Among 
the adherents of the mutinous Judge Koldan an 
indescribable excitement prevailed. The admiral 
had arrived in San Domingo. 

The hour of retribution had surely arrived for 
the rebels. Oh, no! Christopher Columbus was 
no knight of the conquest, no conqueror such as 
the New World learned to know later. In his 
veins flowed no such blood as that of a Cortez or 
Pizarro ; he did not draw his sword to chastise the 
rebels. The admiral temporized. 

That did not soften the rebels. On the con- 
trary, they became more and more audacious. 
Trusting to the Genoese's brilliant descriptions, 
they had come to this island ; now Columbus and 
his brother looked upon the mines as a family 
monoj)oly, and yet the soldiers did not even re- 
ceive their pay. Many of the soldiers had indeed 
put aside gold from the mines, but others had 



AVITII COLUMBUS IN AMEIIICA. 241 

not been so foj'tunate and had actually remained 
poor. Many of them were exhausted by illness, 
and had not received pay for more than a year. 
In Spain it was not thought necessary to send 
money to the discovered King Solomon's Ox:)hir. 
They were weary of life on Hispaniola, and a 
strange oath x^assed from mouth to mouth, " As 
truly as God brings me again to Castile." 

Columbus Avished to be rid of this dissatisfied 
element, and, in a friendly letter addressed to 
Roldan, he offered them ships to transport them 
to Spain. 

They were now discussing in Cibao the answer 
which they should give the admiral. Some of 
Roldan's adherents demanded two ships Avitli 
provisions for the voyage, a x)romise in writing 
from the admiral that the pay due them should 
be i^aid when they arrived in Spain, and a certifi- 
cate that they had well earned this in the New 
World, in the service of the king of Castile. 

But others thought that those who wished to 
remain should receive free land and passjDorts, 
and demanded that Roldan should be restored to 
the i)osition of judge. 

"Do not fear him," cried the bolder ones; "he 
has already become tamer in speech ; he will con- 
sent to everything; and if it comes to the worst, 
i6 



242 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

we have made an alliance witli tlie Indians of 
Cibao, and can conquer San Domingo." 

In tlie midst of this confusion Marchena ap- 
peared in Cibao. He was known as a faithful ad- 
herent of the Genoese, and they eyed him askance. 

He began to tell of the Indian revolt, he begged 
for hell) to rescue a mortally ill Spaniard, for 
j)eople who could bring Castaneda to Cibao under 
a safe escort. 

The Spaniards would not listen to him. "Let 
us lirst arrange the matter of our pay," they re- 
l)lied. "Why did you separate yourself from 
the others, and go into the wilderness alone?" 

In vain did Marchena appeal to all feelings of 
humanity, of the duty to assist a Christian in his 
need. 

"Later; not to-day," was the only answer he 
received. 

" Or are you willing to pay us the money due 
us?" said another, scornfully. 

" In truth, yes ! " cried Marchena. " I will lead 
you to gold mines which will far suri)ass all your 
exx^ectations." 

"Listen, he has found gold mines! " came from 
the group of bystanders, and a number of soldiers 
crowded around Marchena. 

" Show the specimens of gold ! " 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMEKICA. 243 

" Do not believe his mere word ! " 

" He is a friend of tlie Genoese! " 

'' Let liim show the gold! " 

These exclamations came from all sides, and 
the circle of curious listeners became larger. 

Even Koldan, the judge of the colony and leader 
of the rebels, appeared. They made way for him 
and he stood before Marchena. 

"What do you want Avitli us?" he asked him 
savagely. 

"Helx) for an unfortunate Spaniard," replied 
Marchena. 

" For one of tlie admiral's faithful friends? " re- 
plied Roldan. " AVhy do you not apply to Isa- 
bella or San Domingo? Shall we be good enough 
to save your comrade, so that you may then as- 
sist the Genoese in oppressing us? As truly as 
God brings me back again to Castile, I will not 
doit!" 

" Eoldan," replied Marchena calndy, " the un- 
fortunate man is a friend of yours. Castaneda 
lies helpless in the mountains." 

" Castaneda ! " cried Roldan. " Oh, then it is 
quite different. But tell me, has Castaneda really 
discovered gold mines? " 

Marchena made no reply, but drew a purse 
from his pocket. It was the same which Casta- 



244 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

iieda had once found in his trunk. He silently 
handed it to Roldan. 

He opened it. His eyes rested ux)on the gold 
for a long time, then he raised one of the nuggets 
in his hand and cried: "Castilians, we have our 
back i)ay! Castaneda and Marchena pay us! 
Forward, let us follow the brave fellow! " 

The gold nugget went from hand to hand. The 
enthusiasm grew, the admiral's letter was for- 
gotten, and all pressed forward i)reparations for 
departure. In a few hours the colonists were 
ready for marching, and but a few remained in 
Cibao. Marchena was the honored man — he must 
ride beside Roldan, who now inquired symi)atheti- 
cally as to the fate of the brave Castaneda. 

The valley which had been the scene of so 
many exciting scenes was from this time called 
the Gold Valley, and Roldan and his band set- 
tled in it. 

The gold mines were rich ; besides the one opened 
by Castaneda, others were found, and now the 
men won the pay due them. The ship Avliich the 
admiral had x)laced at their disposal remained un- 
used. No one now thought of returning home. 

But the discoverers of the mines did not work 
in them. 

They dwelt in a simple, hastily erected hut on 



WITH COLTTMBUS IN AMERICA. 245 

one of the green slopes of the valley. Here Mar- 
chena, assisted by Ara, nursed the unfortunate 
canaima, who had not yet fully recovered con- 
sciousness. 

Ara remained with Marchena; she now feared 
to return to her people, for they knew that she 
had participated in Castaneda's rescue, and this 
treachery would never be forgiven her. So she 
remained under the protection of her new friend 
the Christian. 

She was dejected, and once when Marchena 
wished to console her she replied gloomily : " My 
hours are numbered; There is no more happiness 
on earth for me. Revenge never sleeps. The 
poisoned spear of the avenger will ^^ierce me." 

Marchena calmed her, but he himself shared 
her fears. He made her promise that she would 
never leave the Spaniard's bedside, and promised 
her, as soon as Castaneda's condition improved, to 
remove with her to San Domingo, where she would 
be safe from the plots of the avengers. She was 
silent to this. Her gayety was gone forever. 

Beside the sick-bed she listened to accounts of 
the God of the Christians; she listened to the 
mild commands of their religion, but she did not 
understand one thing. '' Why do not the other 
white men do the good that they are commanded?* 



246 WITH COLUMBUS IN" AMERICA. 

Your God is not tlieir God ! " she frequently re- 
plied to Marcliena. 

Two weeks had passed since the unfortunate 
day in the ravine. Marcliena sat beside the sick- 
bed. He thought of the admiral ; he could now 
bring him no joyful news. The gold had fallen 
into the hands of his enemies. But Marcliena 
felt that he could not have acted otherwise. None 
of the rebels would have gone into the mountains 
in these excited times, merely to protect Casta- 
neda. For the sake of the gold every one would 
stake his life, and so in this case the gold had 
done good. Castaneda was saved, and now Mar- 
cliena would TDerhaps succeed in bringing him 
from the x>aths of crime to those of virtue. 

He looked down at the pale invalid. He lay 
therewith wide-opened eyes ; the staring look had 
left them. Castaneda had recovered consciousness. 

Marchena bent over him with satisfaction, and 
asked. " How are you feeling, Castaneda? " 

" I am weak," murmured the sick man. " Where 
am I? This is not my house." 

"You are with friends, Castaneda," replied 
Marchena. " Will you have something to eat or 
drink?" 

The invalid nodded. 

" Give me something to drink," said he. 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMEP^ICA. 247 

Marchena brought a cup and Castaneda drank. 
Then his head fell back among the pillows and he 
said softly : '' Yesterday the nightingale sang as 
sweetly as in the rose thickets of Spain. The 
song still rings in my ears. But, Marchena, I 
wish to go to the cloister; tell me, is it far to 
Rabida?" 

Then Marchena seized Castaneda's hand, and 
while he pressed it gently, he said, " We are in 
Hisx)aniola, friend! " 

Now Marchena felt how the sick man started. 
His eyes were fixed upon Marchena, and his face 
expressed terror and anxiety, and with the great- 
est excitement the words came from his lips: 
" Who are you? Is not Marchena dead? " 

" I am Marchena— your friend," said he gently. 

" You are really alive — you did not slee^i in the 
bed yesterday? " 

"Do not excite yourself, Castaneda. Every- 
thing is well." 

The i^atient's strength was exhausted, his eyes 
closed again, and he merely breathed the words, 
"He lives." 

Then he again fell into a deep sleep. 

From day to day Castaneda's condition im- 
jiroved; gradually he recalled the events in the 
ravine, but the stronger he became the less he 



248 WITH COLUMBUS INT AMERICA. 

spoke of them; lie was Avholly silent as to his 
crime, the gold mines and the savage Indians. 

" When I am well," he frequently said, " I must 
leave Hispaniola and go to Rabida ; Father Juan 
will receive me; I have made a vow, and the Holy 
Virgin saved me." 

Marchena did not contradict him, and he also 
awaited with impatience the day when Castaneda 
could be carried in a litter to Cibao, and then to 
San Domingo. 

And this day had arrived. Six Indians were 
taken as bearers, and the feeble Castaneda, sick 
and miserable, was carried out of the Gold Valley 
which had once been the object of all his wishes. 
He had not a grain of gold with him, and did not 
long for any. Marchena and Ara accompanied 
him. " You need no escort." said Roldan as 
they parted. " We have made i^eace with the 
Indians." 

The way led down the mountain, and was now 
easier. The gold-diggers had made a path through 
the woods, but the little caravan advanced but 
slowly, for the Indians were forced to carry the 
litter carefully so as to spare the convalescent. 

" We have time enough! " said Marchena. 

But Ara shook her head and said : " No, Ave 
must hurry, as long as Ave are in the Avoods. These 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA, 249 

paths are not safe, and in the ravines lurk am- 
buscades." 

Marchena smiled. 

'' The Indians are at peace with us," he repeated. 

Ara was silent and walked on beside Marchena. 
The little procession now descended a slope. Mar- 
chena watched Ara, who scanned the thicket at 
either side of the path with the eyes of a falcon. 
" She fears the presence of her people," he thought 
to himself. " To be sure, although peace has been 
made, revenge never sleeps." But the forest 
would soon cease now, and in the savanna they 
need fear no ambush. 

At this moment Ara cried out and sprang into 
the thicket on the right. But behind her flew a 
spear and remained sticking in a tree. Only in 
one spot the twigs of the bushes quivered. The 
spear had evidently been thrown at Ara. 

Marchena hurried to Castaneda's litter to i)ro- 
tecthim if needful; he called to Ara to return; 
and when she emerged from the thicket the little 
train set out again. The Indians looked scorn- 
fully at the trembling woman. Did the bearers 
know of the plot? 

Marchena hurried them forward, and he also 
drew a breath of relief when they entered the 
savanna. Ara's fate now occupied his thoughts. 



250 \yiTH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

She was lost among the Indians, and among the 
Spaniards no happy lot awaited her. He was 
trying to decide whether to return to Sj)ain with 
Castaneda or to remain in Hispaniola. His de- 
cision depended upon what he should learn in- 
San Domingo, but he susj)ected that matters there 
would not be to his taste. 

He therefore joined Ara and began to tell her 
of his home. The Indian listened to him, Avith 
lowered gaze; then she glanced up at him, and 
said in a trembling voice, " You wish to return 
to the home of the white men? " 

" Perhaps, Ara ! " 

" And you will leave me here? " 

" That is for you to decide," he replied slowly. 
" Remember that this island is your home. There 
across the sea all will be new to you." 

She did not answer, but her eyes filled with 
tears. 

Marchena's little band now marched along the 
coast toward the new settlement, the first in the 
New World which deserved the name of city — 
toward San Domingo. 

" It lies behind that hill ; from the summit you 
can see it," he had been told, and he walked 
quickly on ahead of Castaneda's litter, and soon 
stood upon the crest of the hill. Yes, there at his 



WITH COLUMBUS IT^ AMERICA. 251 

feet lay the city with a church and several stone 
houses ; there was the harbor in which six i)roud 
ships rode at anchor. x\round the city were 
cleared fiekls. Marchena's eyes could distinguish 
luxuriant sugar-cane. Oh, how the governor 
Bartholomew had been slandered! This settle- 
ment was a gigantic work, this settlement with 
the unfavorable, uneasy elements only a man Avith 
iron energy could have founded. And did not 
this Genoese work for Sj)ain's aggrandizement? 
Did not the lion of Castile float above the fort? 
Oh, the ungrateful men! 

Once in sight of this flourishing settlement, Mar- 
chena wavered in his former resolve. He had 
maintained the post at which the admiral had 
stationed him, in the interior of the land, to the 
best of his ability; was it not his duty to place 
himself at the governor s disposal once more, 
instead of returning to Spain in a cowardly fash- 
ion like the others? 

Meanwhile, the litter with Casta neda had been 
carried forward. Even the former gold-seeker 
uttered an exclamation of joy, but it was not 
the sight of the city and flelds which delighted 
him. He folded his hands and cried : " Thank 
God, there are ships yonder; I can return to 
Spain." 



252 WITH COLUMBUS IX AMERICA. 

Ara, on the contrary, stood there as if petrified. 
She liad never before seen such a city ; and when 
Marcliena told her of the cities of Spain, she 
sought to picture a scene of very large Indian 
huts. And such gigantic boats, such monsters, as 
she saw lying at anchor in the huge, mirror-like 
sea of the harbor! These were incomprehensible 
wonders for the child of the wilderness. 

They went farther along the beach, they ap- 
proached the harbor, and must cross a projecting 
tongue of land. Marcliena's eyes were fixed upon 
the city; he counted the houses, and cried: "Cas- 
taneda, they deceived us in the mountains. The 
city is large — Roldan cannot possibly defy it; the 
admiral's following is enormous, and the number of 
rebels grows less and less." 

" Do not deceive yourself, Marcheiia," replied 
the invalid quietly. " The i3lace of execution is 
not lacking in this new city even, and I believe 
the viceroy rules his subjects through fear and 
terror. However x)eaceful it may look from a dis- 
tance, the city is not so in reality. Look at this 
tongue of land; here are the tokens — seven gal- 
lows!" 

Marcliena followed Castaneda's gaze, and his face 
grew deathly pale. Yes, there, surrounded by 
ravens, stood seven gallows, and upon them hung 



WITir COLUMBUS IN AMEKI(^\. 2^3 

the corpses oi* seven Spiiiiiiircls! He bowed liis 
head and walked on in silence. 

"So it has come to this!" he thought to him- 
self. "The admiral has ordered executions." 
Marchena was a Spaniard himself; he knew the 
hot blood of his country-people. That must enrage 
them. The admiral was inlaying into Roldan's 
hands. 

Then Ara came up to him and asked him: 
"What is the meaning of these Spanish corj^ses^ 
Is this the way the Christians buiy their dead? " 

The words cut him to the heart ; he walked on 
in silence. 

They had reached the city, but whither should 
they turn? Marchena asked at the first door, 
Avhere he could hnd shelter for himself and the 
sick man in his care. 

" Go to the inn near the harbor," was the an- 
swer. " You come from the new mines — you will 
be warmly received — there is much to be had there : 
Spanish meat, Sj^anish bread, and Sj^anish Avine. 
You can live splendidly. Gold can be of no value 
to you now." 

Gold! gold! Yes, in the first city of the New 
World the same state existed on a small scale as 
in the old cities of Europe. Those were welcomed 
who came with full purses. But the wanderers 



256 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

but the half in which we are now forms the point 
of the pear. This aj)ex lies south of the Gulf of 
Paria, and from thence come enormous masses of 
water in gigantic rivers, so that in the entire bay 
the water has a sweet taste. Without doubt the 
greatest river of the world is also there to be 
found, and it comes from that jpear-shaped apex, 
and upon it lies Paradise." 

Marchena listened to these tales, but he was now 
very little inclined to enthusiasm ; and the host, 
too, laughed coarsely, and said: "Before the gates 
of Paradise the angel with the Haming sword 
probably still stands. It is all the same whether 
we live in S2)ain or Hispaniola: we must torment 
ourselves and slave everywhere. It is the same 
everywhere." 

It was a long time before the admiral returned 
from his journey, and the governor also remained 
absent. Marchena's money meanwliile dwindled 
rajjidly, and he was worried as to what he should 
do. He would soon be forced to borrow from the 
landlord, for here in the city the hospitality com- 
mon in Yega-real was unknown. 

The host did not look x^leased when this x^ropo- 
sition was made him. " Hm ! said he, '' I thought 
you had been more industrious in the mines. 
But wait. I can get you helx). I kiiow a Spaniard 



wrni COLUMBUS in America. 257 

who will buy the slave, Am. 1 will bring him 
here to-morrow." 

Marchena refused this offer in horror. He told 
the host of Ara's fidelity, of the assistance she had 
rendered in rescuing Castaneda; but all this did 
not touch the hard-hearted man. 

'' To-morrow your week is up," said he. " If you 
can no longer j)ay, you must leave my house. My 
inn is no hospital." 

With a heavy heart Marchena was forced to tell 
the sick man the whole truth. Castaneda received 
the news calmly. 

'' Outside of the city," said he, " stand empty In- 
dian huts in which dwell the beggars of San 
Domingo. I will go there and wait until a ship 
sails for Spain. I am in the king's service, and 
they must give me free transportation. But you 
remain here with the rest of your money." 

'' No," replied Marchena. " I Avill not leave you, 
and will go outside the city gates with you. The 
admiral must surely return soon." 

The next day, the 23d of August, had arrived, 
and, leaning upon Marchena, Castaneda left the 
inn. Ara followed them. 

They found shelter in a frail hut. A couple of 

impoverished Spaniards and a number of Indians 

were their neighbors. 
17 



256 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

but the half in which we are now forms the point 
of tlie pear. Tliis ax)ex lies south of the Gulf of 
Paria, and from thence come enormous masses of 
water in gigantic rivers, so that in the entire bay 
the water has a sweet taste. Without doubt the 
greatest river of the world is also there to be 
found, and it comes from that pear-shaped aj^ex, 
and upon it lies Paradise." 

Marchena listened to these tales, but he was now 
very little inclined to enthusiasm ; and the host, 
too, laughed coarsely, and said : " Before the gates 
of Paradise the angel with the liaming sword 
probably still stands. It is all the same whether 
we live in Spain or Hispaniola: we must torment 
ourselves and slave everywhere. It is the same 
everywhere." 

It was a long time before the admiral returned 
from his journey, and the governor also remained 
absent. Marchena's money meanwhile dwindled 
rapidly, and he was worried as to what he should 
do. He would soon be forced to borrow from the 
landlord, for here in the city the hospitality com- 
mon in Vega-real was unknown. 

The host did not look pleased when this jn'opo- 
sition was made him. '' Hm ! said he, '' I thought 
you had been more industrious in the mines. 
But wait. I can get you helj). I know a S]3aniard 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 257 

wlio will buy the slave, Am. I will bring him 
here to-morrow." 

Marchena refused this oiler in horror. He told 
the host of Ara's fidelity, of the assistance she had 
rendered in rescuing Castaneda; but all tliis did 
not touch the hard-hearted man. 

" To-morrow your week is up,'' said he. " If you 
can no longer pay, you must leave my house. My 
inn is no hospital." 

AVith a heavy heart Marchena was forced to tell 
the sick man the whole truth. Castaneda received 
the news calmly. 

'' Outside of the city," said he, " stand empty In- 
dian huts in Avhicli dwell the beggars of San 
Domingo. I will go there and wait until a ship 
sails for Spain. I am in the king's service, and 
they must give me free transx)ortation. But you 
remain here with the rest of your money." 

" No," replied Marchena. " I will not leave you, 
and will go outside the city gates with you. The 
admiral must surely return soon." 

The next day, the 23d of August, had arrived, 
and, leaning upon Marchena, Castaneda left the 
inn. Ara followed them. 

They found shelter in a frail hut. A couple of 

impoverished Spaniards and a number of Indians 

were their neighbors. 
17 



258 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMEEICA. 

" I fancied this would be the end of our Indian 
voyage!" said Castaneda. "Would that we had 
remained in Spain! But listen, Marchena; this 
must go on no longer. I anl a burden upon you. 
You must do for me no longer. Go back to the 
Gold Valley with Ara. There you will be cor- 
dially received! " 

" Never ! " replied Marchena. " I hate this life 
in Hispaniola, and I too long for home. But one 
thing troubles me — Ara's fate. What will become 
of her if we leave her here alone ? And if we take 
her with us she will i^ine in Spain like a strange 
plant." 

" She has really sacrificed herself for me," said 
Castaneda. "It is therefore my duty to care for 
her." 

Marchena made no answer, for out in the harbor 
a cannon w^as discharged. A strange excitement 
filled the miserable huts. "A fleet from Spain ! " 
passed from mouth to mouth. 

In fact two ships lay at anchor, but none of the 
passengers made any attempt to land, for it Avas 
already late in the evening. Some of the men 
from the neighboring huts went to the city, and 
late in the night brought back news that an officer 
of the king, a judge, had arrived. 

" Oh, the Crown has listened to our complaints," 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 259 

ci'iecl the dissatistied and sorely tried men. '' We 
shall be protected from the avarice of the Genoese." 

Early in the morning of the next day, Marcliena 
went to the beach, npon which a crowd of curions 
people had assembled. 

The king's jndge, Francisco de Bobadilla, landed ; 
he and his armed troop went lirst to the church 
to hear mass. The inhabitants of the city were 
full of excitement, for there was something un- 
usual in Bobadilla's manner. What orders did he 
bring with him ? Did he confirm the government 
of the Genoese, or was the king inclined to f uliil 
the wishes and petitions of the opx)osite party? 

The mass was at an end, and the Sx)aniards stood 
before the church. Bobadilla came out of the 
building; his soldiers surrounded him in a semi- 
circle; a notary came forward, unrolled a parch- 
ment, and read the king's mandate. 

Columbus had no more power on the island. 
The king comiinanded that Columbus should sur- 
render the highest military jiower to Bobadilla, 
and that Bobadilla from that time should exer- 
cise civil authority on the island. Bobadilla had 
the right to banish any one, without exception, 
forcibly from the island, should he prove danger- 
ous to the welfare of the colony. 

The Sj)aiiiards and the enemies of the Genoese 



260 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

heard it with astonishment, and niurmnred approv- 
ingly, while their friends stood by in alarm. 

Bnt now other mandates of the king were read 
aloud. 

All who were in the king's service were to re- 
ceive the back pay due them at once. 

" Long live the king ! " ran from mouth to mouth. 
The soldiers and officers from this morfient were 
on Bobadilla's side. But the plain citizens, the 
Spanish j^eo^^le of Hispaniola, did not yet know 
what to say to this change of rule. 

Then yet another mandate was read to them. 
From this day the gold mines were no longer to be 
a family monopoly of the viceroy ; every one could 
work for himself, and a single tax was imposed — 
the eleventh part of the winnings was to be sur- 
rendered to the Crown. 

The joy of the populace now knew no end. 

Bobadilla advanced upon the fortress. The 
commander surrendered without the slightest re- 
sistance ; then Bobadilla went to Columbus' house, 
of which he took possession, and whose papers he 
sealed. It was seen that he had come to oppose 
the viceroy. But if here and there sympathy 
Avas felt for Columbus, it was suppressed, and all 
hearts went out to the new governor when he 
gave orders that the corpses of the seven Spaniards 



WITH COLT MBUR IN AMEKIOA. 2G1 

were to be taken down I'roni the gallows and 
buried with Christian honors, as the dead were 
Spaniards. 

Marchena did not share in the universal satis- 
faction; he remained faithful to Columbus, for he 
knew that the colonists were themselves respon- 
sible for the greater part of the unfortunate con- 
dition of affairs in the colony. Bobadilla's whole 
procedure seemed to him an act of the roughest 
force, and in his eyes the Crown of Castile Avas 
guilty of the blackest ingratitude. 

He returned to the miserable huts, and told 
Castaneda of these important, unheard-of events. 
Castaneda was not troubled by them. 

" Well," said he, " I will get my pay to-morrow, 
and will no longer be a burden upon you. It was 
bound to come. The Crown has at length per- 
ceived how matters are." 

But Marchena thought differently. This time 
he was carried away by his passion. He buckled 
on his sword and went out. Castaneda shook his 
head. " Surely in his zeal for Columbus he \vill 
not go too far and rebel against the king," he 
thought. 

Marchena really thought of this. He was firmly 
convinced that Columbus would not submit calmly 
to such disgraceful treatment, and that he would 



262 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

defend, sword in hand, his rights in the lands dis- 
covered by him, and bestowed uj^on him by Spain. 

He therefore went to meet him, to join his band, 
to fight for him, to die for him. 

A long, long march w^as before him. He had 
walked for honrs in the savanna, when he heard 
in the distance the sound of horses' hoofs. Rol- 
dan rode with his followers to San Domingo; 
mounted messengers had brought him news of 
Bobadilla's arrival, and of ilie victory of the 
anti-Columbus party. The trooji of riders Avere 
happy and of good courage, and Marchena avoided 
them. 

He walked on through the savanna, and quick- 
ened his j)ace. Perhaps a trap Avould be set for 
the admiral to get him into Bobadilla's power by 
trickery, but he should be warned. 

After an hour he again heard hoof -beats behind 
him. Was any one following him? Had his ab- 
sence been observed in San Domingo, and his 
intentions guessed? He left the path and tried to 
conceal himself in the tall grass. 

But he had been seen, and soon after a rider 
paused in front of him. Marchena looked up. 
It was none other than Alonso Ojeda. 

Ojeda also recognized his old friend. "Hey, 
Marchena ! " he cried ; " is it really you, and are 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMEPwICA. 263 

you trying to hide from us in the grass like a 
hare ? Oh, you are weary, my Mend, " he added 
smilingly. "Well, your efforts were in vain. 
We will reach Columbus before you. Do not look 
so unhappy. I will not carry him away from his 
faithful peox)le, as I once did Caonabo. I will 
merely invite him to appear in San Domingo, and 
justify himself concerning the cruelties j^ractised 
upon Spaniards. Do you know that Queen Isa- 
bella does not wish this crazy government to con- 
tinue here? While I was at court in Sevilla a 
fleet arrived from the New AVorld. Every one was 
anxious to see what treasures of gold and spices 
would be exhibited, but what had Columbus sent? 
A number of slaves for the Andalusian markets. 
You should have seen the flush of anger which 
colored our gracious queen's face. There are no 
more slave markets in Spain. The Moorish do- 
minion is at an end. And a new era is to dawn 
here. But we have no time now ; we will see each 
other in San Domingo." 

The riders trotted off, and Marchena stood still 
overwhelmed with dismay. A summons! But 
was not Columbus viceroy? Was he, the dis- 
coverer of the New World, a common criminal, 
that he was treated thus? Ah, he was but a 
Genoese among Spaniards; that was his greatest 



2CA WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

crime ; and therefore lie was condemned before he 
was lieard. 

But what was that? Behmd the hill near by, 
upon the summit of which the riders just then 
ax^peared, Avas heard the fanfare of trumpets. 
Columbus Avas api3roaching with his troops. Mar- 
chena rushed in this direction, for the decisive 
hour was at hand, and he wished to witness the 
meeting. 

Ojeda stood on the crest of the hill and Avaited 
until the admiral's band, returning unsusi^iciously 
to San Domingo, approached him. Then he un- 
folded a small standard and his companions blew 
the usual signal. 

One of Columbus' men rode forward in aston- 
ishment and asked the riders who they Avere. 

" We bring a message from the king. Tell the 
admiral that I aa^sIi to speak to him." 

A few minutes after, Ojeda stood beside the . 
admiral and gave him a summons from Bobadilla 
and a copy of the king's mandate and letter of 
authority. 

Silence prevailed Avhile the admiral read the 
paper. Yes, he Avas but the admiral of the ocean 
which he had crossed ; in no portion of the letter 
AA^as he referred to as viceroy. Marchena\s eyes 
Avere fixed upon the great man's face. His fea- 



WITH ("OLU.MBITS IN AMEKICA. 205 

tnres betokened deep, deej) pain, but then he con- 
trolled himself and said calmly, ." I submit to the 
will of my monarch, and follow you, Ojeda." 
Then he turned to his followers, and while he 
handed the paper to one of his officers he said: 
" Read that— it is not meant for me alone. The 
whole world must learn how Christox)her Colum- 
bus is treated in Hisi^aniola. Read it, and give 
the papers to my brother, the governor." Then 
he turned again to Ojeda and said, " I am read}^," 
and rode in the direction of San Domingo. 

The admiral's soldiers stood there as if struck 
by lightning. What did these papers contain? 
The officers read them, the soldiers learned the 
contents in fragments, until at length they assem- 
bled and the letters were read aloud to them. 

" To San Domingo ! '' cried one. 

" The gold mines are free! " 

"Let us get our pay before the money boxes 
are empty ! " 

" Long live the king of Castile and Leon ! " 
thundered through the savanna. 

Marchena scarcely believed his ears and eyes. 
Were these Columbus' faithful followers? 

The troop set in motion again. 

"Halt!" cried one of the officers. "Who will 
carry these papers to the governor? " 



266 WITH COLUMBUS IK AMERICA. 

" He is no longer the governor! " answered one 
of the soldiers. 

'' I must go to San Domingo! " another excused 
himself. 

No one volunteered for this errand, and Mar- 
chena cried angrily: "Give the letters here! I 
will take them to the governor." 

" Oh — he has come with the king's messengers, 
give him the letters," cried several voices, and the 
officer hastened to place the documents in Mar- 
chena's hand. 

The governor did not submit as readily as his 
brother to the king's commands. He did not find 
the pax^ers in order; there w^as no expressed de- 
grading of Columbus from the dignity of viceroy ; 
and if Columbus was viceroy, he was the highest 
official on the island, and higher in authority than 
Bobadilla. 

" Had I but been with him ! " cried the governor, 
setting his teeth; and* in a fiery address to his 
soldiers he strengthened their fidelity to him and 
his brother by calling their attention to the per- 
secution and neglect which tbey could expect 
from the new rule, as they had remained faithful 
to the old, regular one. He resolved to march to 
Isabella and overpower the old settlement. 

Meanwhile Bobadilla's adherents in San Do- 



WITH OOLTJMBirs IN AMERICA. 267 

mingo liad also sent their messages, not to the gov- 
ernor, but to his soldiers. They came as if on 
their own account to their friends and comrades, 
and told them of the x^romising new order of 
tilings, of the freedom of the mines ; they rattled 
the money in their pockets, and loudly praised 
the king of Castile who had paid them the back 
pay due them, through the noble Francisco de 
Eobadilla. The tempters were quite fortunate in 
their efforts. The band of faithful adherents to 
the brave governor grew less and less; the rest of 
the soldiers were discouraged, so that Bartholo- 
mew could no longer think of carrying out his 
plan against Isabella. 

The remnant of opposition to the new governor 
was at length vanquished by a letter from Colum- 
bus. In this he summoned his brother to submit 
to the king's command and come to San Domingo. 
" AVhat is Columbus doing now? " one of the sol- 
diers asked the messenger. 

" Oh, he is in safe keeping," was the answer. 

" What! Has he been imprisoned? " 

" Yes, and put in chains." 

A murmur of astonishment passed through the 
crowd. 

Then the governor gave orders to march, and 
gloomily they proceeded to San Domingo. 



268 



WITH COLUMBUS IN A.MERICA. 



Marcliena was most deeply affected of all. He 
remembered the hour when he saw Columbus for 
the first time, when the bells were ringing in Palos 
for his reception, and a procession Avent out to 
meet him. He thought of how the admiral, ad- 
mired by all, went to the court at Barcelona; and 
now — oh, what irony of fate! what human ingrati- 
tude ! he who had given a New World to Castile 
and Leon Avas imprisoned and in chains. 





LET S?A1N SEE THE IG.N'OMY THAT IS PLACED UPON ME. 




XVIII. 



It had happened — the governor, too, had been 
taken x)risoner; the other brother, Diego, had met 
with the same fate before this. 

Great rejoicing reigned among the x)opulace in 
San Domingo. Prisoners had been sent from 
Spain, and Bobadilla admonished the people that 
they shonld engage in useful occuiDations. But 
his admonitions were unheeded. What was more 
useful than digging gold in the mines, wdien, in- 
stead of the third, they need surrender but the 
eleventh part? A stream of peoi:)le set out for the 
mining districts ; even the farmers of the neigh- 
borhood left their settlements to wander to the 
gold mines. They offered their houses and fields 
upon the streets at absurdly low prices, if only 
they could find purchasers. 

The door of the prison closed behind the gov- 
ernor, and Marchena left the city to seek the 
huts outside. He found there Ara and Castaneda. 
The latter was no longer as sad as formerly. 



270 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMEllICA. 

" Marcliena, you look x)ale and exhausted," said 
lie. " You liave been with the governor. Come, 
strengthen yourself ; I have received my i3ay, and 
can entertain you with Spanish wine and Spanish 
bread!" 

He led him to the miserable hut where these 
treasures lay spread out upon the ground. 

"Do not torment yourself!" Castaneda con- 
soled the x)reserver of his life. " No harm will be 
done Columbus here. He will be sent back to 
Spain, and the king will judge him more mildly. 
You can accompany him," he added after a while. 
"You can accompany him ; no one will prevent, 
you. I have spoken to Ojeda. I have taken one 
load off your mind. You see, Ara is the preserver 
of my life. I owe her great thanks, and therefore 
I bought for an absurd price a farm near San 
Domingo — only a quarter of an hour's walk from 
here; I will remain here as a settler, and Ara can 
remain with me. I have told her that you will 
come back again later, and she is willing to stay 
with me until then." 

Marcliena drew a breath of relief and pressed 
Castaneda's hand. 

On the same day the three removed to the sim- 
ple house, Avliose owner had already gone to the 
mines. 



WITH COLUMJJUS IN AMERICA. 271 

The Indian laborers surveyed tlieir new master 
questioningly. 

" Oh, I understand those looks," said Castaneda 
to Marchena ; " but they need not fear nie ; the old 
Castaneda died in the wild, rocky ravine of the 
Gold Valley, and as long as I remain in Hispaniola 
I shall have but one ideal to which I shall aspire. 
You are this ideal, Marchena; I hope that, with 
God's help, the new Castaneda Avill succeed in 
winning the love of the savages." 

These words expressed a deep earnestness and a 
hrm, manly resolve ; and greatly moved, Marchena 
fell ux)on the neck of the former canaima^ and 
tears checked the words A\'hich he had on his lii)s. 

Castaneda was right; no further harm was done 
Columbus in San Domingo. He had been i^ut 
in chains, and robbed of all his estates, even of 
his papers. They ke^^t him prisoner, and — well, 
they dealt graciously with him, for they S2)ared 
his and his brother's lives. 

The day of departure had come. 

The hidalgo Alonso de Yillejo appeared before 
the admiral, with his guard. Columbus had been 
so broken down by the disgrace heaped upon him 
that he even trembled for his life. At this mo- 
ment he believed that his last hour had come. 



272 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

" Villejo, where are you taking me ? " lie asked 
with a trembling voice. 

" On board shi^), to set sail ! " replied the Jiidalgo. 

The admiral gazed incredulously at the guard. 

"To set sail?" he asked again. "Villejo, are 
you speaking the truth? " 

So, loaded with chains, he walked through the 
streets of San Domingo, anxious for his life. The 
people who had assembled to watch the depar- 
ture of the prisoner stood there silently. Even 
Columbus' most bitter enemies could not express 
aloud their disgraceful joy at this moment. The 
great discoverer's misery was so great that even 
those who hated him were touched at the sight. 

So the great admiral of the ocean once more 
stood upon the deck of a Spanish ship, but not 'as 
commander, as was by rights his 2:)osition, but as 
a state prisoner, with chains on his hands and 
feet. 

The sailors who had grown gray in service were 
shocked at this sight; their hearts w^ere not so 
hard as those of the officials on land. 

The captain of the ship, Andreas Martin, ap- 
proached the prisoner with respect, when they 
had weighed anchor, and wished to remove Co- 
lumbus' chains, and Marchena's heart beat happily 
as he stood near by. But Columbus refused this 



WriJI COLUMBUS IN AMEKICA. 273 

favor. " Si)aniards shall see the disgrace which 
is my reward for my services," said he, bitterly. 

Marchena turned away, his eyes filled with 
tears. Once he had admired the discoverer as a 
hero ; now he aiix)e^ii'ed to him higher and better 
than a martyr. 

The nearer they came to Spain, the more the 
hostility which the Spaniards felt toward the 
Genoese dwindled, and the captain, Andreas 
Martin, iDermitted Columbus, Avhile on board, to 
send a letter to the i^rince's nurse, who was very 
influential at court; thus it happened that the 
king and queen learned the state of affairs from 
Columbus' pen before Bobadilla's hostile letter 
arrived. Columbus in chains! Such treatment 
seemed unworthy of the Crown. At the king's 
command, Columbus was immediately released 
from his chains, and trealed Avith the honor 
due him. The king also sent him two thou- 
sand ducats, so that he might appear at court 
in a manner befitting his rank. When, on the 
17tli of December, he knelt before their Majesties, 
he could not speak for emotion. He was over- 
whelmed with distinctions, but his star had set, 
never to rise again. He still bore the title of 
viceroy, but he did not govern his land. The 
kins: himself was convinced that the great dis- 



274 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 



coverer had no talent for ruling, and in order to 
secure a better future for his colonies he a^^pointed 
Spanish governors from that time. 

The Ligurian never governed in Hispaniola 
again. 




XIX. 



Upon tlie veranda of a house near Palos sat a 
black-liaired man, and gazed out uj^on the broad 
sea. The owner of this estate Avas Jacob de Mar- 
ch ena, the model landed proprietor of the neigh- 
borhood, and since two years the happy husband 
of Mercedes Hernandez. His Indian experiences 
were of no value to h im on his estate, but he often 
thought of his former experiences, and even to- 
day, Avhen the year 1504 was drawing to a close, 
his thoughts wandered to the savannas and moun- 
tains of Hispaniola. 

What were his old acquaintances, Ara and Cas- 
taneda, doing now? He had never heard from 
them; Castaneda was no letter- writer. Marche- 
na's thoughts were also occupied with another 
man. Columbus had gone on his fourth voyage 
three years before. 

There had been great events in these years. 
The Portuguese had reached the true India in the 
year 1499, and the glory of Columbus' discoveries 



276 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

began to wane. Gold came in but small quanti- 
ties from the colonies, the spices which they 
sought were not to be found, while the ships of 
the Portuguese returned with large and valuable 
cargoes. Columbus was now on the way to reach 
the Portuguese India by a narrow channel which 
in his opinion lay between Cuba and Paria. Had 
he succeeded? In Spain, doubts were expressed 
as to the further results of the bold discoverer. 

While "^larchena meditated upon the events of 
the last year, the watch-dog began to bark, and 
the master perceived a man in sailor costume at 
the garden gate. The stranger greeted him, and 
stretched out his arms to Marchena. The latter 
sprang uj), hurried to the gate, and clasped the 
man in his arms. " Castaneda, is it really you? " 
he cried. 

Yes, it was Castaneda, weather-beaten and aged; 
a gray beard framed his face, and gray hair hung 
over his temples. Dee]3 wrinkles were furrowed 
in his face and his brow. How blooming in com- 
parison to his guest did. the happy Marchena 
look! 

But Castaneda did not come bowed down with 
care; his eyes sparkled calmly and happily, and his 
lips smiled. This man had avou peace, and he 
was surely satisfied with the result of his life all 



WITH COLUMBr?^ IX AMERICA. '277 

these years, nltliougli there Avas no gold in his 
pockets. AVitli what joy this traveller was led 
into the beautiful house! How hosjDitably he was 
received, and how he Avas overAvhelmed Avith 
q iiestions ! He must have had a hundred tongues 
to have answered them all. 

" Wait, Avait,'' he said to his friend; " I Avill tell 
you all in order, for I know Avliat you ai'e anxious 
to learn, and you can listen to my accounts quietly, 
for I have only good neAvs for you. You Avill not 
be saddened. But AA^here shtill I begin?" 

" Is Ara still alive? " asked Marchena. 

"Oh, she is alive and happy! Yes, Ave Avill be- 
gin Avith her, the preserver of my life. 

" When you left us, many hoped that a iieAv era 
had dawned for Hispaniola under Francisco de 
Bobadilla ; indeed, it Avas a neAv era. The confu- 
sion grcAv greater and greater. The Indians Avere 
more and more oppressed, murders and fights Avere 
frequent in the gold mines, and Bobadilla could 
scarcely keep the hostile parties in check in the 
city. During all this time I lived calmly in my 
Jiacienda,, and devoted myself to the education 
of my great colored children. Ara Avas of as much 
help to me as though she had been a Spaniard. 

" Then the neAv governor, Don Niedas de Ovanda, 
arrived. The oppressed ones fared better under 



278 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

him. The Indians were at least granted their 
rights as men, and the Franciscans went to work 
energetically to convert the savages. Near San 
Domingo the hrst Christian Indian village w^as 
built. There our colored brethren lived calmly, 
unmolested by the Spaniards. This village was 
of great assistance to me. My peoj^le married 
among and associated with the Christians, and one 
day Ara knelt before me with a young Indian, 
just as once she had knelt Avitli Henry before you 
in the moonlight, and I must give them my bless- 
ing. Father Hernandez married the couple; they 
went to live among the Christians, and my house 
was empty. What more had I to do? the object 
of my stay was accomplished. I had seen the 
preserver of my life i^rovided for. 

" Then a longing for my old home came over me, 
and I often went to the harbor to inquire when a 
vessel was to depart for Si:>ain. The excellent op- 
portunity i)resented itself: an entire tieet — more, 
than twent}^ ships — Avas to sail back to Spain; I 
need wait but a week. 

''Then another fleet arrived in the port, four 
not especially stately vessels — and to wdiom did 
they belong? Columbus. The news that the vice- 
king had returned spread like magic through the 
city. Coltimbus ]3repared to land, but Ovanda 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 279 

was anxious for the peace of the colony, and for- 
bade him to approach. Columbus must therefore 
prepare to sail on. 

" You know that formerly I was an enemy of 
the Ligurian, but now this inhospitable recep- 
tion made me furious. Oh yes, one's judgment 
changes with time, and I do not know how it 
happened, but when I heard that Columbus was 
looking for several more sailors, I presented 
myself. I was the only one from the whole 
colony. 

"Well, I had made no poor choice; on the 
king's fleet there had been no such select society. 
Ovanda sent back to Sjiain by it Messrs. Roldan 
and Bobadilla. 

'' The admiral was commanded to leave the har- 
bor as soon as possible. He obeyed — he had to 
obey, but see how noble he was ! Columbus un- 
derstands astronomy. He found that Jupiter and 
the moon were in opposition, and the sun and 
Mercury in conjunction. From this he prophe- 
sied a storm, and he sent warning to Ovanda to 
delay the sailing of the fleet upon which his ene- 
mies Roldan and Bobadilla were. Ovanda j^aid 
no attention to the warning. He let the fleet sail, 
and, lo and behold! at the same time a fearful hur- 
ricane arose, the twenty ships were wrecked, and 



280 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

Roldan and Bobadilla never were seen again. 
That Avas a judgment of God, Marcliena. 

" But we were under tlie XDrotection of the Al- 
mighty. The admiral kept near the coast with 
his ships, and, although the storm raged fearfully, 
we did not lose a vessel, and not a single man. 
But our feelings were very painful. Imagine 
Columbus, forced to leave the safe harbor, and 
exi3ose his shij)s to the wild storms of the ocean — 
he, Columbus, who had given this island, this 
harbor, this New World, to Spain. 

" This New World, I said, and I do not exag- 
gerate. Oh, what boundless tracts of land have 
we visited on this voyage, this fourth voyage of 
Columbus ! 

" We sailed ever toward the west, to find the 
strait, and finally we came to a large, new 
island, Guanaja. A magnificent pine forest 
shaded it, so that we named it Isla de Pinos. 
Here we met traders who had come from the 
north. But these were no savages like the Caribs 
or the Indians of Hisx3aniola. They had shields 
of brass, finely fashioned knives of bright, opaque 
stone, beautifully carved, wooden and marble 
tools, and vari-colored cotton coverlets. We 
asked where they came from, and to this day I 
regret that the admiral was unwilling topsail there, 



AVITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 



281 



for in the land of tlie Maya'^^" we would surely 
have found a great kingdom. But the admiral 
wished to reach the gulf of Bengal, and so we 
steered toNvard the south to seek the strait. 

- Such storms as burst upon us there, none of us 
had ever experienced before. We were ill, weary, 
and oppressed; the admiral, too, lay ill in a cabin, 
and from there directed the course of the vessel. ^ 
'^ But once did I heau him complain. ' For years,' 
he cried, ' have I served Spain, and yip to this 
time I have won nothing. I have not even a roof 
to shelter my head in Castile, but must live in 
taverns, without knowing how I shall pay my 
bills! ' Yes, yes, the admiral has been ill repaid 
for the hardships which he has endured. He who 
has taken part in these voyages of discovery can 
alone appreciate him justly ! " 

He was silent awhile, then he continued: 
'' We found lands rich in gold, far richer than 
Hispaniola. Richest of all is Yeragua, a land 
which must lie upon a peninsula, for we learned 
that a few days' journey inland brings one to 
another coast, to another sea. It must be a penin- 
sula such as Spain or Italy, and what can it be 
but the golden Chersones? " 

Thus Castaneda gave Columbus' opinion of the 
* The present Yucatan. 



282 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

form of Central America, which in this voyage he 
had discovered ; then he continued his account : 

"We also heard of a mighty people who wear 
armor like ours, and possess great ships. We 
wished to found a settlement in Veragua, but the 
Indians were too hostile. Many of our men had 
fallen in conflict wdtli them, and even the ad- 
miral's brother had been in great danger of his 
life. He had intrenched himself upon the shore, 
and as there was a furious storm raging we could 
send him no assistance from the ship. The ad- 
miral w^as ill, himself; he was suffering with fever, 
and wrung his hands in desperation. Then as he 
broke down helplessly ui^on his bed, a mild voice 
said to him consolingly: 'Why do you waver in 
your belief in God? What more did he for Moses 
or for his servants of old than he has done for 
you? Since your birth he has taken the greatest 
care of you. W^hen you became of the age fixed 
by him, he let your name echo all over the Avorld. 
He gave you India, the richest quarter of the 
globe; you divided' it as you wished. You re- 
ceived from him the keys of the ocean, which 
formerly had been bound with thick chains. 
Your authority w^as obeyed in unbounded coun- 
tries, and you have Avon immortal fame among the 
Christians. What more did he for the people of 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMEP.ICA. 283 

Israel wlien lie led them out of Egyi^t, and for 
David, Avlioiu he raised from the estate of a shep- 
herd to the throne of Judea? Return to your 
God, acknowledge at last your error; his compas- 
sion is unbounded. Your age will not prevent 
you from accomx)lishing great deeds. He holds 
in his hand the most splendid inheritances. 
Speak; who has humbled you so often and so 
deeply— God or the world? God always keeps 
his promises. Fear nothing. Take courage.' 

" He told us this, and we took courage. We at 
last succeeded in rescuing Sehor Bartholomew. 
But how our ships had been damaged by the 
storm! how worm-eaten, leaky, and rotten they 
were! We could not think of sailing farther 
toward the new sea. We must return and strive 
to reach the Antilles. 

" And now hear of Columbus' last return voy- 
age, the most desperate of all sea voyages. Two 
ships we were forced to abandon, so greatly were 
they injured, and so with the two others we set 
sail for the island of Jamaica. But the wind 
drove us too far to the Avest, and so we came 
among that group of islands which on his first 
voyage, Columbus had called the Islands of the 
Queen, as they presented such a beautiful ap- 
pearance under the l^lue sky. But this time no 



284 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

favorable star shone above iis ; the heavens were 
gloomy and covered with clouds ; for six days the 
wind howled and the sea w^as rough ; then a storm 
burst loose as though the end of the world had 
come. The anclior chains broke, and we finally 
had upon the admiral's ship but a single anchor, 
next to God our sole safeguard. At length the 
sea grew calmer. We could unfurl our sails, and 
steered toward Hispaniola. In our present con- 
dition they would surely receive us, for Ave were 
as good as shipwrecked. Our shi]3s were like 
honeycomb— everywhere w^ater i^enetrated. The 
men w^ere desperate, lio]3eless ; we daily and hourly 
faced death. Of what avail were all our elforts? 
AVith the weather-beaten ships we could not fight 
the sea, so must let ourselves drift, and Avind and 
currents drifted us to Jamaica. 

" The water grew deeper and deej)er in the hold, 
the pumps Avere Avorked incessantly, but the 
Avater ascended. Then all used pots and kettles 
to bail out the w^ater, but the ships sank deeper 
and deeper. Ah, how happy Ave Avere Avhen we at 
last espied a harbor; Ave called it Santa Gloria, and 
the admiral ordered the tAvo ships ashore here at 
a favorable place. 

" So there we Avere fast aground ; only the bow 
reached out of water ; here we established ourselves 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 285 

comfortably^ built huts, and thus liad two water 
fortresses in which we could defy hostile In- 
dians. 

'' Do you remember with what joy we bought 
the Indian potatoes in Isabella? Here also, on 
the shore of Jamaica, we were dependent upon 
the Indians, for our supplies were lost— lay in salt 
water. So we were forced to seek out the savages 
and beg food of them. I went on shore with a 
party. I walked from village to village. I formed 
alliances with the red chiefs; for trifles and orna- 
ments I purchased a boat, and brought manioca 
bread and hsh to the bay of Santa Gloria. 

" Here we were to remain like prisoners for an 
entire year. From whence could we hope for 
rescue? Scarcely from the governor Ovando alone, 
from our hostile colony of San Domingo. 

" There were some courageous men who wished 
to row there in the frail barks of the savages. 
They did so! In mere nutshells they crossed the 
ocean. For five days and five nights they rowed 
continually. They were no common sailors; they 
were heroes, led by the brave Mendez. 

"They met Ovando in the region of Jaragua. 
They begged, they implored. In vain! The gov- 
ernor would bring no help. Oh, he was cautious; 
he feared that Columbus had planned some 



286 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

strategy, so as to be allowed to set foot on the soil 
of Hispaniola, and stir up revolt in the colony. 

" At length he relented, and sent a ship to Ja- 
maica to investigate our situation. Oh, he had 
chosen an excellent investigator. He was that 
Escobar whom you know, Roldan's bosom friend. 
He saAv our condition. But he remained scarcely 
a day, and sailed away after promising to send ii 
larger ship, as he could not take all the ship- 
wrecked people with him on his small one. 

" We should all have starved had not the ad- 
miral's wisdom saved us. The Indians grumbled: 
why should they feed strangers? They simply 
refused to supply us Avith any more provisions. 
But Columbus knew that on the 29th of February, 
1504, an eclipse of the moon Avould occur. Like 
a priest of old, he went among the Indians and 
threatened them with the anger of the God of the 
heavens, who would turn his radiant face away 
from them if they did not give to the white chil- 
dren of the sun the tribute due them. And the 
prophecy was fuliilled: the face of the moon was 
darkened, and the Indians came and implored the 
mighty magician for pardon. 

" But worse than the Indians were the Sx)an- 
iards themselves. Common need should draw 
men together, should strengthen them in unity, 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 287 

but there are scoundrels who, even in need, follow 
their avaricious aims. Sacli scoundrels were the 
brothers Francisco and Diego Porras. They in- 
duced forty-eight men to leave the ships with 
them, and began to oppress the Indians. In vain 
were they warned that in peaceful intercourse with 
the savages lay our only safety. They settled 
upon the coast, doubtless with the intention of 
overx)owering the rescuing ship when it should 
arrive. 

" There was nothing left for us but to subdue 
the mutineers, and so we advanced against them 
under the lead of the brave adelantado Bartholo- 
mew Columbus. You are surprised, Marchena? 
Yes, I was in the foremost rank, I the former 
enemy of the Ligurian ; I would have shed my 
blood for him. With Christopher Columbus I 
had sailed, and ' For Christopher Columbus ! ' was 
now my motto. It was on the 19th of May, 1504, 
that Spaniards, fighting against Spaniards, shed 
Spanish blood in the New World. We came off 
victorious, and took Francisco Porras captive ; the 
rest surrendered their arms and vowed fidelity 
afresh. 

" At length, at length, on the 28th of June we 
discovered a white sail on the horizon. A ship 
approached. Ovando had at length taken pity 



288 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

upon the shipwrecked men, we thought. But 
no ! The colony which Christopher Columbus had 
founded, the city which his brother Bartholomew 
had built, did not send us help. It was a ship 
which the faithful Diego Mendez, after long 
months, had at length been able to j)urchase in 
the colony, with the last money of the admiral. 

" We now sailed to San Domingo, but we were 
made to feel that our admiral had no authority 
here. The governor Ovando ordered the chains 
removed from the mutinous Porras, whom we 
wished to bring chained before the bar of Spanish 
justice. 

"We remained in San Domingo for a month. 
I looked up Ara; she lives contentedly in her vil- 
lage, although the Christianity of these people has 
become very Indian. They live unenlightened, 
for better laborers have been found for the oceanic 
India— negro slaves are now brought across the 
sea. 

" We left the New World which had showed 
itself so ungrateful to us. Yesterday we arrived 
in Cadiz. We bring news of vast tracts of land, 
of rivers and mountains rich in gold; vague 
accounts of mighty peoples, avIio vie with us in 
culture. But how the times have changed ! Ships 
come and go across the ocean uoav ; in twelve years 



^VTTir coLrMBus i:n" America. 289 

the great novelty has become old. No one asks 
for us ; we are coolly received, for we brought no 
gold with us; our treasures rest at the bottom of 
the sea, in the bay of Santa Gloria. And Colum- 
bus landed, sick and miserable. No honors were 
heaped upon him; he went out of the gates of the 
city almost unknown, the j^oor shipwrecked man! 
He intends to beg the king for the fulfilment of 
his rights; for part of the gold belongs to him, in 
accordance with the king's own letters; but he 
goes there without much hope of success, for his 
noble friend Queen Isabella lies very ill— her life 
is feared for." 

Castaneda was silent and looked at Marchena, 
who sat there absorbed in thought, and wiped 
tears from his eyes. He smiled sadly and added: 
" You were an enthusiastic admirer of his, Mar- 
chena, but you did not know him. You saw him 
at the summit of his fortune, and in the time 
when the halo of a martyr surrounded his head, 
but you did not learn to know him in the hour of 
danger. Between Columbus and the other great 
men and navigators of our time, there is a great 
difference. Yasco da Gama, who reached India 
by circumnavigating Africa, is a true admiral and 
commander; Ojeda, a brave stormer and inciter 
to action ; Ovando a calm, wise statesman ; they 
19 



290 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

all cleave to the earth, and reckon from day to 
day. Columbus is not of this kind.' He gazes 
into the future like a prophet; he comes upon 
mighty rivers and thinks of Paradise, and remodels 
the shape of the earth ; he finds rich lands, but 
he does not tarry in them ; he would like to secure 
them for himself, so that he may leave an inheri- 
tance for his children, but the profits of these ter- 
ritories acquired cannot occupy him entirely ; his 
mind carries him away ; he has explored the ocean 
and that does not satisfy him — he wishes to cir- 
cumnavigate the globe ! AVhat no one else has ac- 
complished before him he has accomplished; but he 
wishes to surpass himself, and achieve yet greater 
results. That is his misfortune; for the world, 
bent only on profit, does not understand him. 

" They say he is grasping, but he is at war with 
himself. He wishes to be rich, to possess gold, 
for this is the means for further exploring; but 
although he has discovered gold mines he does 
not stoop to them. He goes, he sails farther, to 
explore the earth. And I believe he will not long 
rest; he will again cross the ocean, until he has 
sailed from east to west around the world. That 
is, if he is fortunate at court," Castaneda added 
slowly, " for he has returned poor— as poor as I 
am!" 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 291 

The two old comrades liad mucli to say to each 
other of other old friends and of their experiences, 
and time passed rajiidly. But when evening ap- 
proached, Castaneda rose and said : 

" I must go, Marchena— God brought me safely 
to Spain, and I must fulfil the vow which I made 
in the terrible Gold Valley. I must go up to the 
cloister and ask Father Juan if he can receive 
me." 

" You, Castaneda ! You really wish to renounce 
the world?" asked Marchena, in surprise. 

'" What do you say?" replied Castaneda, smil- 
ingly. " Renounce the world? No; renounce only 
the joys and vain pleasures of this world, and 
instead take uj) the burden of duty Avhicli brings 
us true happiness. Marchena, I tell you the 
New World, which Columbus discovered, conceals 
more gold than Ave all think, and streams of blood 
will flow for this gold. Knights and adventurers 
will go there to fight for it, but we must seek to 
alle\^iate this distress, while Ave j)lant the cross, 
and give protection to all those who seek it under 
the shade of the cross. Not a grain of glittering 
gold have T brought Avith me from the Ncav World, 
but Avith God's help I will carry back to the New 
World the true gold, the Word of the Gospel. 
Father Juan AAdll surely instruct me in the Avorks 



292 WITH COLUMBUS 11^ AMERICA. 

of God. And when tlie time is up, when I receive 
consecration, then I shall say farewell to my 
SjDanish home — farewell forever — and will end 
my days among the savages." 

A few minutes after, the bearded sailor de- 
scended the hill upon the summit of which stood 
the cloister. His features expressed devout seri- 
ousness as he rang the bell at the gate and an- 
nounced himself to the prior. 

Mght had long since descended, but the 
stranger did not leave the cloister again. A lamp 
still burned in the prior's room. He had had a long, 
long talk with his guest, had tried with all the 
arts of persuasion to dissuade him from his pur- 
pose, but Castaneda remained true to his resolve; 
and so Father Juan rose and clasped the future 
brother in his arms and begged God's blessing 
for him and his difficult work. 




XX. 



A YEAR had passed. In the cloister garden of 
Palos, the prior walked up and doAvn with the 
novice Antonio, in the shade of the chestnut- trees. 
The prior had been to court, and had much to tell 
the former Indian traveller. 

"It is indeed strange, Antonio," said he. "At 
first we believed that Columbus had been before 
the Portuguese, but that is certainly not the case. 
The Spanish ships which sail to our Indies bring 
back neither nutmegs nor cinnamon, and indeed 
these spices do not seem to grow at all on the 
islands and mainland of Columbus. But the 
Portuguese ships bring a quantity of wares which 
from of old we have ]Drocured from the Orient, 
and thither flock all the merchants of the world. 
Portugal cannot supply ships enough. Italians, 
even Germans from the far north, come to Lisbon to 
sail for India under the Portuguese flag. This 
greatly disturbs the Court. We have a vice- 
kingdom of India, but it is scarcely the true India 



294 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

wliicli the Moors visit. There are men at court 
who secretly give expression to these doubts. But 
they are not x)ublicly discussed, so that the value 
of the new possessions may not decrease in the 
eyes of the world." 

^'And what says Columbus to this?" asked 
Brother Antonio. 

"Columbus!" replied the prior. "There is no 
longer anything said of him. They are greatly 
occupied with another navigator, also of Italian 
origin, the Florentine Americus Yespucius. He 
has gone farther south than any one before him, 
and he has discovered limitless lands. He pub- 
licly declares that he has found a new, a fourth 
portion of the globe. He calls it the New \Vorld, 
for there are uj^on it as numerous people and as 
rich an animal world as in the Old World, even 
if the animals and men differ greatly from these." 

"That probably disturbs Columbus greatly?" 
asked Antonio Castaneda. 

"Not at all," replied the prior. "Americus 
Vespucius has had sad experiences with the Por- 
tuguese, in whose service he was, and so he met 
Columbus as a companion in misery. Yes, he 
even negotiated for Columbus at court." 

"Does then the admiral wish to undertake a 
new voyage? " 



AVITII COLUiALBUS IN AMERICA. 295 

•• Oh, he can no longer think of snch a thing. 
The man is ill, broken; he now seeks merely to 
defend his rights before the Crown. He desires 
that he and his sons be reinstated in the dignity 
of viceroy, and that the income dne him from 
India be paid him. He has very great claims 
ni:)on the Crown, and that is his misfortune. At 
the time of his arrest by Bobadilla alone, sixty 
thousand gold pesos were stolen from him. But 
now he is i^oor, and, as he says in his letter, lives 
on credit." 

" And the Crown permits that? " cried Antonio, 
horrified. " Oh, if Queen Isabella still lived, Co- 
lumbus need not Avant. But what he has said is 
true. He has not even a roof to shelter his head 
in Castile, and does not know how he shall pay 
his bills!" 

" Well, that is partly his own fault," said the 
prior. " He is obstinate, and persists in his vice- 
royalty. He was offered a handsome j)roperty in 
Castile for his claims, but he refused it. You can 
imagine that now the king's councillors are very 
slow with his affairs. It would have probably 
been wiser for him to consent to the offer. He 
could have ended his days in peace." 

" I can understand him," said Antonio. " He 
wishes his rights, and does not wish to injure his 



296 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMEKICA. 

fame. He believes in the future of India, and 
wishes to save liis dignities for his children. But 
tell me, Father Juan, what news is there of His- 
paniola?" he continued. 

" One hears good and bad news from there, " 
replied the prior. "Ovando sends good reports : 
the colony is growing stronger, and will gradually 
become self-supj^orting ; but terrible news also 
comes. A young priest — Las Casas is his name — 
comx^lains of the Spaniard's ferocity. It has been 
forbidden to sell the Indians as slaves, and they 
are to be forced to work in the service of the 
Crown alone, but the persecutions of the poor 
creatures do not cease. Only a short time ago, 
Ovando had eighty- four of them burned to death." 

" And how about the negroes ; are they no longer 
taken to Hispaniola? They could better do the 
work on the ijlantations." 

" Oh, yes ; it has been estimated that they need 
for the colonies some four thousand negro slaves. 
Until now the Genoese have engaged in this hu- 
man trade along the west coast of Africa; but they 
cannot suppl}^ so many, and so they have sold to 
the Flemish the sole right for eight years to the 
slave trade, for twenty-seven thousand ducats! " 

" Four thousand negro slaves ! " said Antonio 
sadly. "Four thousand human beings forcibly 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 297 

carried away from their homes! A new misery 
will ensne^ thereby ! The Christians engage in this 
human bartering ! O God, in what times we live ! " 
" Yes," replied the prior, " the Avorld is rough 
and hard. Evil never ceases ; but shall we there- 
fore despair? It is your duty, Antonio, to strive 
with all your might to convert men to good. In 
the New World also will you find a rich field for 
your activity." 

It was in the autumn of 1506. A Franciscan 
monk, in the brown robe of his order, stood at the 
garden gate of Marcjhena's home. It was our 
old friend Castaneda, now Brother Antonio. He 
came to take leave of Marchena — leave forever — 
for he was going to the Ncav World, there to end 
his life in pious works. 

The hours of the last sad farewell passed slowly 
away. At last the monk could be detained no 
longer. "I must go to Seville," he said; "there 
in the vicinity, Columbus lives — in Yalladolid, I 
believe. I must see him before I leave Spain; I 
must receive from him a blessing upon my work! " 

" Assure him of my sincere regard," said Mar- 
chena. " His suit against the court is iiroceeding 
more favorably, I believe; that will make him 
happy in his old days ! " 



298 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

The monk went. A long, long jonrney stood 
before him ere he would reach Valladolid. At 
last he presented himself in the cloister there, 
w^hich also belonged to the Franciscans. They 
received the brother hosi)itably, as was the custom, 
and the j)rior there rejoiced when he heard that 
Antonio wished to embark in San Lucas de Bar- 
rameda, to preach the gospel in the New World. 

" But I have an important errand in the city 
here," said Brother Antonio; " can j^on not tell 
me where the admiral of the ocean, and viceroy of 
India — where Christopher Columbus — lives?" 

Then the prior folded his hands and said: "Let 
us pray for him, Antonio! He lives wdiere we all 
w ill one day live. His mortal frame rests in our 
vault, and his soul has entered into the Paradise 
of the Lord ; for in our arms he breathed aw^ay his 
life, and ' Lord, into thy hands I commend my 
spirit ' were his last words." 

At this Castaneda broke down, and covered his 
face. "Columbus dead!" he cried, filled with 
grief, " and no one in the world speaks of it; even 
in Palos, Avhere once he w^as received Avith the 
ringing of bells, not even a mass is said for his 
soul. He must have died very recently? " 

The prior shook his head. " No," he replied, 
"months have passed since he died. It w^as on 



WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 299 

the 20tli of May, on Ascension Bay, of the year 
1506, in a small honse in the city, that he closed 
his eyes for rest everlasting. He has won much 
honor, but suffered still more misery. The world 
always turns its back upon the setting star — that 
is its way ; then comes posterity and x^ronounces 
just judgment." 

For a long time Castaneda could not control 
himself. He went into the cloister Avhere among 
the dead brethren the great admiral rested, and 
prayed beside his coffin. Xo marble tablet with 
golden letters marked the spot where the great 
discoverer of the New World rested. Then Cas- 
taneda walked through the streets of the city, and 
remained for some time in the low room of the 
little house in which Christopher Columbus had 
passed his last hours. 

What a tragic destiny was that which unrolled 
itself before the eyes of the now so serious Brother 
Antonio ! The Franciscans of Rabida had received 
the hungry man. They had been the means of his 
crossing the unfathomable ocean in his bold voy- 
age, of his triumphal procession through Spain, 
and then the same honored hero returned in 
chains to the unthankful land, and died almost 
forgotten by the world. 

Brother Antonio left Yalladolid and went to 



300 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 

the harbor of Seville, to San Lucas de Barrameda. 
He went, not bowed down, but strengthened, for 
he told himself : " One must renounce the vani- 
ties of this world, and woi'k not for the sake of 
earthly reward. If one does good for good's sake, 
one need fear no disappointments." 

The Avorld had forgotten Columbus! When 
two years later Jobst Ruchhammer finished his 
work, "UnknoAvn Lands," he knew nothing of 
the death of Columbus, and wrote that he was still 
living in honor at the Spanish court " at the present 
day." 

Not until later in history was Columbus' great- 
ness recognized. His son found favor at court, 
and was acknowledged viceroy of India; and aj 
Columbus had expressed a wish to be buried in 
San Domingo, on Hispaniola or Hayti, his body 
was taken to Seville. His coffin was then deco- 
rated with the motto which was later added to the 
family coat of arms : 

" A Castilla y a Leon 
Nuevo mundo dio Colon." 

(To Castile and Leon Columbus gave a New 
World.) 

But only after centuries were the remains of 
the admiral brought to Hayti, and placed in the 



I 



WITH COLUMBUS IIS" AMERICA. 301 

catliedral at San Domingo. But tliey were not 
to rest even here. 

In the year 1795, when the Spaniards surren- 
dered San Domingo to the French, and the Si3anish 
admiral, Don Gabriel d'Artizabel, wished at least 
not to surrender to them the ashes of the man 
who had done so much for Spain, he had the 
vault opened, and the ship San Lorenzo brought 
Columbus' remains to Havana, where they were 
laid to rest in the cathedral there with all due 
ceremony, on the 19tli of January, 1796. 

Much later the city of his birth, Genoa, built a 
monument to the great discoverer. The fame of 
Columbus' only became general when, through the 
further exploring expeditions of Balboa, Cortez, 
Pizarro, and Magellan, the greatness of his discov- 
eries was recognized; after the European emi- 
grants to the New World had founded a state 
which in its enormous development seemed much 
more wonderful than the kingdoms of China and 
Japan, which Marco Polo described so glowingly 
and which Columbus had wished to reach. 

Those who went with Columbus acquired little 
honor, and for the most part died poor. Alonso 
de Ojeda undertook exj)editions to the north coast 
of South America, discovered Venezuela, but could 
not maintain his position there. 



302 WITH COLUMBUS IN AMERICA. 



1 



But a curse seemed to rest upon Hayti. It was 
always the scene of bloody conflicts — this land in 
which the Spaniards founded their first settle- 
ment, and to which the first black slaves were 
brought from Africa. A curse rested upon the 
land from which Columbus was taken away in 
chains. 




^f^ 



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